Dune (2021)

(M) ★★★★

Director: Denis Villeneuve.

Cast: Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Zendaya, David Dastmalchian, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, Charlotte Rampling, Jason Momoa, Javier Bardem, Chang Chen.

It was true. The sand did look just as sandy from up here.

One of my favourite "sliding doors" moments of cinema is David Lynch passing up the opportunity to direct Return Of The Jedi to instead make Dune. Man, I would've loved to have seen David Lynch's  take on Jedi.

But instead, we got Lynch's version of Frank Herbert's much-loved 1965 sci-fi novel Dune. While it's now something of a cult favourite, it was a critical failure and box office bomb, and Lynch's Dune effectively sank the idea of adapting the book for the big screen for more than 30 years. The fact that it bested Lynch, as well as directors Alejandro Jodorowsky and Ridley Scott (who each tried to make it in the '70s) meant film-makers stayed away, despite the book being the biggest-selling sci-fi novel of all time.

Enter Denis Villeneuve, who's coming off an incredible run of films that includes Sicario, Prisoners, Arrival and Blade Runner 2049. The latter movie is an example of his ability to beautifully realise a pre-existing sci-fi reality; to immediately make it feel real, and to tell a worthy story in that world without getting bogged down. He's done it again with Dune.

Wisely splitting Herbert's hefty tome in half, the film follows Paul Atreides (Chalamet) and his family as they are given control of a valuable planet in the distant future. But there is much to contend with on the planet, including the hostile locals, deadly sandstorms, enormous killer worms, and intergalactic machinations that are guaranteed to leave a trail of blood across the face of the planet Arrakis.

For those who have never read the books, seen the previous film or TV mini-series, played the games or even heard of Dune, the film is immediately accessible. It sets up its worlds, its politics and its players with a deft charm, striking a perfect balance between exposition and immersion.

This helps to make its universe (Dune-iverse?) feel real. A killer cast certainly helps too, as they make sure the characters are fleshed-out people. Chalamet, Ferguson, and Isaac are all fantastic, but no one lets the side down. Every minor character and side player is a cog in the big Dune machine, which is genuinely impressive.

But its the use of effects that really does the job in clinching this reality. Amid every sandblown and windswept scene it's easy to forgot who much CG there is here, but it all feels so wonderfully grounded and immersive. The effects are a great example of how Villeneuve creates worlds, but also the reality he seeks in his storytelling.

This video is awesome at explaining how the Dune team did their effects, and why they work so well:

The upshot of all this is that you are drawn into this world in a way that lets the story be the focus - not the effects and not the fan service. It's a familiar hero's journey, even though it ends on an offbeat due to the book being cut in half (part two is on the way), and Paul Atreides' place in the galaxy is never quite clear. There are notions of honour, duty, destiny and doing the right thing in here, but Dune is somewhat lacking in terms of themes. It's more concerned with plot, which is a weakness but not a damning one.

From its stunning score to its fascinating visuals, Dune tells its story in a powerful and engaging way. If they can maintain this level of quality for the sequel, then there's potentially a new powerhouse sci-fi franchise in town. 

Spider-Man: No Way Home (no spoilers review)

(M) ★★★★★

Director: Jon Watts

Cast: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jacob Batalon, Marisa Tomei, Jon Favreau, Jamie Foxx, Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina, Benedict Wong, Tony Revolori, JK Simmons.

The extra arms were handy for doing the housework.

Giving the fans what they want is a fraught exercise. Often in films, especially superhero movies, this kind of "fan service" is about stuffing the screen full of Easter eggs at the expense of story and character, and often to the detriment of the casual viewer. It's like the old adage about responsible government - don't give the people what they want, give them what they need.

So if a film can manage to not only meet the wild expectations of fans but exceed those expectations, while also giving them the good story and character arcs a good film needs, then that is truly something special. Marvel has done this before, most notably with Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. These high watermarks of the franchise stuffed countless beloved characters into a gripping storyline, all the while making sure they got those magical moments of "fan service".

Marvel has done it again with Spider-Man: No Way Home. The film stands on the shoulders of giants, but then somehow pulls the giants up with them. This is a herculean feat of fan service that works because it takes all the "wouldn't it be cool if this happened?" moments and fits them into a story with high stakes, powerful arcs, deep emotions, important lessons and wry humour.

Spider-Man AKA Peter Parker (Holland) finds his life in turmoil, thanks to tabloid media jerk Jonah J. Jameson (Simmons) revealing his secret identity. In desperation he turns to sorcerer Dr Strange (Cumberbatch) to work his magic and make people forget Peter Parker is Spider-Man. But in doing so, they open up doorways into the multiverse, sending Spidey-villains from other universes into Peter's world.

Spider-Man is one of the most beloved Marvel characters for many reasons, and the non-MCU Spidey films that have worked best (Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, The Amazing Spider-Man and Into The Spider-Verse) have understood those reasons. More so than any other Marvel character, Spider-Man is born out of tragedy, defined by adversity, and constantly has to give up everything to make the world a better place. He's perpetually broke, unlucky in love, and struggles with the imbalances in his life in a way that feels real and relatable. He's always been the most human of the superhumans.

No Way Home gets this, just like Homecoming and Far From Home did. The film puts Spidey through the ringer, all the while cherishing what makes him unique and beloved. The film is full of pathos and heart, and isn't afraid to hit you in the feels hard. A lot of that comes down to Tom Holland's continual brilliance in the role, and a script that understands the legacy of the character and why he works. 

It does all this in the midst of some remarkable fan service. It serves up things you didn't even know you wanted as a Spidey-fan, on top of the stuff you did want. Its villains are enjoyable and the film doesn't suffer from having too many, even if some get little more than the most basic of motivations. The spectacle is on a huge scale, but still manages to keep the characters front and centre.

The Home trilogy is now complete, and leaves Peter Parker in a fascinating and very Peter Parker-esque place. There has been talk of another trilogy, with Holland continuing in the role. Who knows where the character would go next, but as far as Spidey films go, this seems unbeatable. 

Venom: Let There Be Carnage

(M) ★★½

Director: Andy Serkis.

Cast: Tom Hardy, Woody Harrelson, Michelle Williams, Naomie Harris, Reid Scott, Stephen Graham, Peggy Lu.

The battle for the chicken had begun.

This is damning it with faint praise, but at least this is better than the first Venom film.

In fact, this sequel to Sony's obvious attempt to milk it's Spider-verse cash cow is reasonably enjoyable in places. It fixes things that were broken in the first film (the tone, the script), and ensures what worked remains (Tom Hardy's Eddie Brock and his relationship with Venom).

But it's by no means a great movie. It feels padded and devoid of heart - it's a big, dumb, silly piece of fun and nothing more.

Brock is still a washed-up reporter, living an Odd Couple-style existence with the symbiote Venom, which continues to share Brock's body. But Brock's career looks to be on the up when Death Row serial killer Cletus Kassidy (Harrelson) picks Brock as the man to share his story with. Unfortunately, that spells bad news for Brock and the city of San Francisco.  

The muddled tone of the original is gone, and new director Serkis leans into the dark comedy that provided the better moments of the first film. While it's still bloodless, there's a darker vibe due to the big bad being a serial killer, as if the movie is slowly edging closer to a time when we can have an R-rated Venom film where heads are actually seen to be eaten. That this is all played for laughs is a relief after last time.

The comedy duo of Brock and Venom is entertaining, and Hardy once again gives his all for the underappreciated role. Harrelson is also wonderfully OTT, and the script attempts to give Kassidy a bit of depth, even if it's all done very simplistically, but at least they made the effort. 

However the film still can't shake the feeling that they don't totally know what to do with these characters. Venom is at his best when he's fighting Spider-Man, and until Sony gets their wish, they're treading water and re-running ideas from the first film - namely that it's symbiote-vs-symbiote, and that Brock and Venom have to get along because they're stronger when they work together.

The script feels padded given the story's simplicity, and could've been done in half the time, but at least the padding is more enjoyable than in the first film. There's some welcome humour that works better this time around, even if the script is still pretty silly (a clue is found carved into a tree for chrissake).

Given the comparative post-COVID success of this, a third film is inevitable. It's hard to see where they'll take the franchise, because it's already starting to feel tired. Sony is absolutely jockeying to get Venom into the MCU, so let's hope it doesn't drag that franchise down to the level of this one.

The Third Man (1949)

(M) ★★★★★

Director: Carol Reed.

Cast: Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Orson Welles, Trevor Howard, Paul Hörbiger, Ernst Deutsch, Erich Ponto, Siegfried Breuer, Hedwig Bleibtreu, Bernard Lee, Wilfrid Hyde-White.

"I knew I should've turned left at Albuquerque."

Here's what I remember from my first viewing of The Third Man 20 years ago - the sewer chase finale, a stray light illuminating Harry Lime's face, the ferris wheel, and the cuckoo clock speech. Each of these moments features that titan of cinema, Orson Welles.

Rewatching Reed's classic noir, it's surprising how little screen time Welles has, but these remembrances illustrate how much he towers over the film. In less than 10 minutes he dominates proceedings enough to earn his sociopathic Lime spot #37 on the American Film Institute's list of cinema's greatest villains of all time. 

Obviously Welles is a major part of what makes The Third Man such a classic, not only of film noir, but of all film. Lime looms over the narrative just as the shadow of World War II looms over post-war Vienna in the film. If we'd finally met Lime after such a build up and he'd been anything less than Wellesian in his charismatic proportions, it would have undone so much great work. Welles fan and director Peter Bogdanovich also notes Welles' influence on Reed's direction, noting that "the look of The Third Man - and, in fact, the whole film - would be unthinkable without Citizen Kane, The Stranger and The Lady from Shanghai, all of which Orson made in the '40s, and all of which preceded The Third Man". And Welles wrote that pitch perfect cuckoo clock speech.

Of course, there is so much more to The Third Man than Welles - he's the slice of Lime in a gin and tonic, tying it all together, making it all work. To stretch this desperate metaphor to breaking point, the gin is Graham Greene's gripping noir storyline and Reed's use of German expressionism in his direction, while the tonic is the under-rated Cotten in a workmanlike performance, carrying the whole thing along.

Greene hung out in Vienna just three years after WWII ended, picking up stories of the black market and life in the city for his screenplay. Filming there adds so much veracity to Greene's story - the moral decay of Lime and his dubious cohorts is reflected in the destruction of the city. Where once stood beauty and some of humanity's finest achievements now lies rubble and ruin.

Reed, Aussie cinematographer Robert Krasker, and assistant director Guy Hamilton (who did four Bond films) use light and shadow brilliantly to ramp up the noirish tones, throwing in some ambitious-for-the-time Dutch angles to keep the viewer off kilter (The Best Years Of Our Lives director William Wyler famously sent his friend Reed a spirit level in response). These tasty tricks help put you in the shoes of Cotten's equally perplexed Holly Martins, the pulp western writer scrambling to find out what happened to his mate Harry. Cotten did some of his best work alongside his dear pal Welles, and this is among his finest. He makes Martins' an enchanting mix of brash American, clueless everyman, and desperate friend, and by film's end we feel his sense of betrayal and sadness.

Alida Valli and Trevor Howard are also great, as is Bernard Lee and indeed the remainder of the cast, who get to throw some neat gags in to break up the darkness. And when you add Anton Karas' jaunty yet haunting zither score, it rounds off a classic film without a weak spot.

The Third Man has earnt its rightful place as a British classic, though it's almost perceived to done this by accident. As Film Magazine noted while putting the movie at #26 on its 100 Greatest list, Reed "had to settle for Joseph Cotten and Orson Welles" instead of getting James Stewart and Noel Coward. Leslie Halliwell, writing in 1977, called its success "a lucky combination", while Barry Norman, in the process of dubbing it one of the 100 greatest films of all time in 1998, said that "on the face of it The Third Man should simply have come and gone, remembered - if at all - as simply another post-war thriller".

The director was also fighting with Greene over the ending - the writer wanted Holly and Anna to get together, but Reed disagreed. As Greene noted much later, Reed "has been proved triumphantly right", giving us one of the greatest downer finales in cinema, and capping off one of the best films of any generation. As William Bayer put it in his 1973 book The Great Movies, "The Third Man is a flawless film of intrigue and suspense, a summit of perfection within the genre... (it) may be the greatest (British) film since World War II". Bayer was correct nearly 50 years ago, and is still correct today.

The Beatles: Get Back

(M) ★★★★★

Director: Peter Jackson.

Take 413 of Maxwell's Silver Hammer was going surprisingly well.

Believe it or not, some people don't like The Beatles.

I've met some of these strange creatures in the wild and have found them contrary and confusing. Obviously this three-part documentary series is not for them.

But it's also hard to recommend this near-eight-hour-long doco to people with only a passing interest in the Fab Four. There are moments in parts one and two that had me looking at my watch, and I'm obsessed with The Beatles. But they pay off, if you're dedicated.

Obsession and dedication are what is needed to watch all of Get Back. Peter Jackson has made this to be as complete as possible while still making something watchable, fully aware this is could be the last time in a long time someone will get to sift through the 60 hours of film and 150 hours of audio from the Let It Be sessions, as filmed in 1969 by Michael Lindsay-Hogg and his team.

With that once-in-a-lifetime shot in his hands, Jackson has ensured the series paints as complete a picture as possible, piling on the minutiae and fan service. For example, the mentions of manager Allen Klein are ominous, but offer no pay-off within the scope of the doco - it's only the die-hards who know where that goes - while the huge amounts of footage showing the band goofing their way through daft covers and silly jams that aren't album-worthy demonstrate where their heads are at musically, even though it often sounds terrible.

This completeness is both Get Back's biggest strength and weakness. It's fascinating and frustrating because for the first half, The Beatles are shit at rehearsing. The clock is ticking, but they dick around with half-arsed covers from their Hamburg days, or deliberately messing around with their own songs. No wonder George quit and Ringo looks bored out of his brain.  

But as infuriating as it is, it helps contextualise everything. By showing us so much, Jackson helps us understand everything better. George's departure makes more sense than it did in the original Let It Be doco, as does Paul's attitude, which is a mix of fearful indecision and reluctant leader. Yoko's presence is shown to be as benign as most intelligent people always thought it was, John's only as willing as his stonedness allows him to be, and Ringo is just Ringo. 

This excess of material also improves the pay-off of the rooftop concert. There's an incredible exultant joy that comes from watching their final gig after having seen them fumble their way through the previous few weeks. Seeing this historic moment in its entirety, from multiple angles simultaneously - including street level and the cops politely waiting in reception - is another example of Jackson giving us the full context, even though we see repeat performances of the same five songs.

Some favourite moments: the nonchalant way George quits, Paul's reaction to hearing Billy Preston jam with the band for the first time, Preston's incredible talents, seeing Get Back eke its way out of Paul's brain, the remembrances of India, the way they discuss Brian Epstein, Lindsay-Hogg's hilarious concert suggestions, and Paul's cheeky grin when the cops rock up at the rooftop gig.

Get Back is an exhaustive and occasionally exhausting look at The Greatest Band In The World that does something no other Beatles experience has ever done - it makes you feel like you're hanging out with the band. Unfiltered, honest and insightful, it sets the record straight and shows the Fab Four as just four very real humans who happened to make some incredible music together.

No Time To Die

This is a version of a review airing on ABC Radio Ballarat and South West Victoria on November 12, 2021, and ABC Radio Central Victoria on November 15.

(M) ★★★★★

Director: Cary Joji Fukunaga.

Cast: Daniel Craig, Léa Seydoux, Rami Malek, Lashana Lynch, Ben Whishaw, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Jeffrey Wright, Christoph Waltz, Billy Magnussen, Ana de Armas, David Dencik, Rory Kinnear, Dali Benssalah, Lisa-Dorah Sonnet.

"No time to die, but always time for a drink, am I right?"

I've always graded films on how well they meet their aspirations. Not every film is trying to be Citizen Kane or Lawrence Of Arabia, so the only accurate benchmark to measure a film against is how successfully it achieves what it is trying to achieve.

No Time To Die is trying to do a lot of things. It's trying to wrap up the Daniel Craig era of Bond, while also give Craig a fitting farewell that matches his brilliant entry to the franchise (Casino Royale, which is the best Bond film for my money). It's also trying to push the series into places its never been and continue its modernisation, while also maintaining the essential 007-ness of it all. And it wants to be a damned good Bond film.

No Time To Die is all those things. It achieves every goal, and does so with heart, grit, guts and the occasional wry smile. It's a continuation of the changes that have been evident in the series with every passing decade, but it's also exceedingly worthy of carrying the 007 licence. In short, this will go down as one of the best Bond films of all time.

It certainly carries one of the most Bond-worthy plots - the villainous Lyutsifer Safin (Malek) has taken control of a diabolical superweapon with the capacity to selectively wipe out anyone he wants, one family at a time. Naturally, it's up to Bond to stop him.

What's impressive about No Time To Die is the way it weaves this typical storyline among the threads of the connections Craig's Bond has made along the way. It ups the stakes like no 007 movie before - not just in a "I'm trying to take over the world!" megalomaniacal way, but in a personal way for Bond as well. It shows Bond in a new light, making him simultaneously stronger and more vulnerable than ever before.

Most of this comes down to the script, written by series regulars Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, along with director Fukunaga, and polished by Phoebe Waller-Bridge. But a lot of credit also has to go to Craig, who delivers the highs and lows beautifully. His light touch with humour along with his physicality and ruggedness have made him a great Bond, but its been his dramatic chops and emotional range that have set him apart, never more so than here. 

Fukunaga's cinematography is outstanding, the set pieces are brilliant, and the ending is to die for. The cast regulars such as Whishaw, Harris, Fiennes and Wright are great, and the returnees Seydoux and Waltz are also excellent, but its de Armas and Lynch that threaten to walk away with the movie, especially de Armas, who lights up a wonderful sequence set in Cuba. 

Series custodians Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli have successful closed one Bond chapter and provided a blank slate for whoever is chosen to pick up the martini glass next. But whoever does so has some huge shoes to fill. No previous Bond has ever gone out on a high like this.

Eternals (no spoilers review)

This is a version of a review airing on ABC Radio Ballarat and South West Victoria on November 12, 2021.

(M) ★★★

Director: Chloé Zhao.

Cast: Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Lia McHugh, Angelina Jolie, Brian Tyree Henry, Lauren Ridloff, Barry Keoghan, Don Lee, Salma Hayek, Harish Patel, Kit Harington, Bill Skarsgård, David Kaye.

"How long do we have to pose like this?"

In the wake of its box office-breaking, era-ending Endgame, Marvel's subsequent fare has paled in comparison. 

That's not to say the post-Endgame films have been bad. Au contraire. Spider-Man: No Way Home, Black Widow and Shang Chi & The Legend Of The Ten Rings have all been great fun, with some strong highlights. But next to Endgame, they're small cheese.

Similarly, Eternals lives in the shadow of the great MCU films that have come before, and superhero fatigue is very real for many. Even the two-year-long COVID-enforced gap in releases hasn't eased this.

All of this is no fault of Zhao and her superb cast. Yes, Eternals has its flaws, but this film would have felt far more impressive five years ago. Now, it feels good without being great - an enjoyable but bloated push into Marvel's cosmic comics catalogue that lacks a truly fresh angle to make it stand out from the crowd beyond its very welcome representation.

For those who don't know their Celestials from their Deviants, the film deals with a team of superheroes - the Eternals - who are sent to Earth by the god-like Celestials to protect mankind from some weird beasties known as the Deviants.

With their job seemingly completed, the Eternals hang out on Earth for a few extra centuries, waiting for their next mission. But the Deviants have returned, and are far more powerful than our timeless heroes remember.

There are a lot of firsts for Marvel in this film. Across its wonderfully diverse cast, there is a differently abled hero, a gay hero, and plenty of ethnicities that have never seen themselves reflected back like this. Representation is important. If you think otherwise, you're probably white or stupid or both.

Naturally, the problems with the film are nothing to do with this. They stem from the difficult task of explaining the convoluted backstory behind these characters and their overlords - it's far easier by comparison to say "I got bit by a radioactive spider". But the film struggles to explain its exposition and so overcompensates. There's an opening crawl, then we see what's explained in that opening crawl actually happening. Then, when big reveals are revealed, things get explained again.

This would be a deal-breaker for a film that doesn't look as good as this, or that doesn't have such excellent depth and heart, or such a fascinating array of characters so well portrayed. As much as Eternals crawls in places and struggles under the weight of its exposition, these lulls are surrounded by shining character moments and great fun.

The theme of family (insert Fast & Furious joke here) is minor compared to what Eternals is trying to say about humanity itself. Characters go back and forth about whether mankind is worth saving, about whether the few must die so the many can live - the kinds of ideas that have kept philosophers awake at night for millennia and are fun to explore in a superhero blockbuster.

With 10 Eternals in play, the film gets plenty of opportunities to kick around these ideas, but its biggest strength is that each character and their perspective feels fully fleshed out and distinctive, beyond their colourful costumes and varied power sets. There are no weak links in the cast, but Henry, Jolie, Madden and Nanjiani really shine.

Zhao handles the action scenes nicely, making good shot choices to ensure the combat doesn't get lost in hard-to-follow close-ups and edits, and generally the film looks amazing. She also lets the character moments breathe amid the global carnage.

Eternals is not the home-run many had hoped it would be, but nor is it the disaster many are claiming. It's a slightly over-stuffed ensemble piece that delivers a wonderful array of cool characters and some much needed diversity in the superhero genre.

Ranking the Fantastic Four films

The Fantastic Four are Marvel's first family - 60 years ago, Jack Kirby and Stan Lee created this super team and they became the foundations that the House of Ideas was built on.

Over the past six decades, the FF have been used to explore plenty of cosmic ideas, but at their core there has been several key themes, including family, discovery, the weight of greatness, and the cost that comes with trying to build a better tomorrow. With no secret identities to hide behind, the fascinating foursome have proven themselves to be incredibly human and very vulnerable over the years. This has helped them sell upwards of 150 million comics and made them among the most relatable characters in the Marvel canon.

Yet every time Marvel's first family is taken to the big screen, things have gone badly. An MCU-approved reboot is on the cards, but let's look back and laugh/cry/hurl at the mis-steps the FF have made over the years.

And here's a piece about all this that I wrote for the ABC.

1. Fantastic Four (2005) ★★★

Not as bad as you remember thanks to some spirited performances, strong casting, and a couple of cool sequences. Some of the special FX have aged as poorly as the overly sexualised nature of it all, but the general vibe is one of campy fun and half-decent reverence for the material. The characters are fairly comic-accurate (except for Dr Doom), and most of the tweaks work, broadly speaking. The prosthetics of The Thing are pretty great, and Michael Chiklis nails it as Ben Grimm, while Chris Evans has a field day as Johnny Storm. It's worth noting Jessica Alba and Ioan Gruffudd are individually okay but together they're terrible, while Julian McMahon gives it his best shot at an underwritten Dr Doom. As an origin story, it's not bad, and some naff moments aside, it had the potential to launch a strong franchise.

2. Fantastic Four: The Rise Of The Silver Surfer (2007) ★★

A scattergun sequel that centres on the Coming of Galactus storyline, but forgets to bring the necessary dread or gravitas. Many comicbook fans lamented were critical of Galactus being rewritten as a giant cloud instead of massive planet-eating dude, but that's not the real problem here. Gruffudd and Alba still have all the chemistry of two bricks, and it's particularly telling when Evans and Alba demonstrate more spark... and they're playing brother and sister. But it's the story that's the main issue. Dr Doom is resurrected with no explanation, and the film doesn't seem entirely sure what to do with him or Silver Surfer. Evans and Chiklis save the day, and there are some good laughs along the way, but the franchise feels tired, two films in.

3. Fantastic Four (2015) ★★

Read my full (and very generous) review here.

Once again, they nail the casting, but the script is a mess, perhaps because the studio was trying to save the film with re-shoots, edits, and no bloody idea. All origin, no story, the film goes nowhere and spends a long time doing it. On the plus side, Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Kate Mara, Jamie Bell and Toby Kebbell give their all, and the film at least dares to be different, following the Ultimate Fantastic Four storyline and embracing a certain amount of darkness, most likely in an attempt to differentiate it from the MCU. More of a noble failure than most give it credit for, but it's also a total mess.

The Fantastic Four (1994) ★½

Feel sorry for Alex Hyde-White, the big screen’s best Reed Richards, stuck in a film that has the dubious honour of being so bad it was never released. The truth is far more complex than that, but this is definitely a sub-par B-movie that looks like it was made in 1984, not 1994. Made for the wrong reasons but with a couple of surprisingly good moments, it’s predominantly packed with bad choices, terrible scripting, and laughable performances. A wonderfully hammy Dr Doom makes this kinda fun, as does a too-good-for-this performance by Hyde-White, and a valiant effort from Rebecca Staab in a horribly underwritten role as Sue Storm. The effects are dire, but far worse films have been released, and it's definitely in the so bad-it's-good department.

The Last Duel

This is a version of a review airing on ABC Radio Ballarat and South West Victoria on October 29, 2021, and on ABC Radio Central Victoria on November 3, 2021.

(MA15+) ★★★½

Director: Ridley Scott.

Cast: Matt Damon, Adam Driver, Jodie Comer, Ben Affleck, Harriet Walter, Alex Lawther, Marton Csokas, Željko Ivanek, Tallulah Haddon.

 

"I'll be Robin Hood, you play the Sheriff of Nottingham."

Ridley Scott has a surprisingly diverse back catalogue. We tend to forget that the director behind Alien and Blade Runner also made Thelma & Louise and the under-rated Matchstick Men (and the god-awful The Counsellor while we're at it).

But if there's one common sub-genre in Scott's wheelhouse, it's the blood-soaked historical drama. From his debut The Duellists, through to 1492: Conquest Of Paradise, Gladiator, Kingdom Of Heaven, his disappointing Robin Hood, and Exodus: Gods & Kings, Scott has loved staging battles, building huge CG crowds, and embracing the dour darkness and violence of ye olde times.

With that in mind, The Last Duel is quintessential Scott. Sticking rather faithfully to a surprisingly true story from the late 14th century, it features blood-soaked battles, brings medieval France to life with some tasteful CG, and is as dour and bleak as they come.

Wedged in between all this is a salient and oddly timely look at the patriarchy, the treatment of women, in particular victims of sexual assault, and the horrific excesses of men. It's a medieval #MeToo movie that recounts the events leading up to the final judiciary-approved duel in France, telling its tale from three different viewpoints - the brash and honour-focused Jean de Carrouges (Damon), his erstwhile friend the hedonistic Jacques Le Gris (Driver), and Jean's forlorn but resourceful wife Magritte (Comer).

The Rashomon-style approach to its storytelling is both its biggest strength and its biggest weakness. While it's regularly fascinating to see the different perspectives of some events, it makes a long film (two and a half hours) feel genuinely long in places. It also means the film's most harrowing sequence is shown twice with subtle but important differences, but it doesn't make it any easier to watch second time around. 

Equally draining is a slow and confusing start, as The Last Duel bounces from battle to battle, castle to castle, with little to hold on to but the bad haircuts and some accents that start somewhere in England but regularly wander across the Atlantic (oh, and they're supposed to be French, by the way).

Weird accents and wigs aside, the film predominantly improves as it progresses. The intrigue of who's telling the truth is compelling, and knowing that it's leading to a gruesome showdown helps drag you through the film. Scott's world-building is also excellent, as usual, and backed by some stellar production design. And in the hands of Damon, Driver, Comer and Affleck, the script is in safe hands, with each actor delivering top-notch performances, especially Comer and Damon.

Despite its pacing and repetition, there is enough in The Last Duel to keep you hooked until its physically and emotionally brutal ending. Its story is thought-provoking, its stars are outstanding, and it looks sumptuous, even if you struggle to take Damon and Affleck's haircuts seriously. 

AFI #47: A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

This is a version of a review airing on ABC Radio Ballarat and South West Victoria on October 29, 2021.

This is part of a series of articles reviewing the American Film Institute's Top 100 Films, as unveiled in 2007. Why am I doing this? Because when I started, the damned cinemas are closed and I have to review something, and now I can't stop.

(M) ★★★★★

Director: Elia Kazan.

Cast: Vivien Leigh, Marlon Brando, Kim Hunter, Karl Malden, Rudy Bond, Nick Dennis, Peg Hillias.

"Bib? I don't need no stinkin' bib."

My five-year-old is very interested in movies. When I put him to bed, he asks me if I'm watching a movie later, and if I say yes, he asks what it's called.

"A Streetcar Named Desire," I tell him.

"Is it about a streetcar?" he asks, not knowing what a streetcar is, but probably thinking its just a car that goes down a street. Which is technically correct.

"No, I don't think so."

"What's it about then?"

I think for a bit. I haven't seen the film in 20 years, and I can't recall what happens in it. What I can remember is the yelling, the passion, and some kind of steamy New Orleans anger.

"It's about emotions," I say in the end. "It's about a bunch of people with some very strong feelings."

It's not the best summary, but my five-year-old seems satisfied. 

Much like my son's probable understanding of what a streetcar is, my summary isn't incorrect. A Streetcar Named Desire is from that niche genre of preferably black and white films that are adaptations of plays with minimal plot but lots of yelling and emotions. By the end of the film, secrets will be uncovered, someone will go crazy, and you'll wonder whether love really exists. See also Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?. 

A Streetcar Named Desire is the pinnacle of this dramatic sub-genre. It's emotions are dialled up to 11 by the sweltering New Orleans heat and Marlon Brando's physique, which is matched by his titanic performance. A jazzy score swoons as everyone sweats in a cramped apartment where the emotions bubble away like a pot perpetually on the verge of boiling.

The plot, as scant as it is, revolves around the fragile yet narcissistic Blanche DuBois (Leigh), who has come to New Orleans to stay with her sister Stella (Hunter) and brother-in-law Stanley (Brando) to recover from a breakdown. The rest, as they say in the classics, is psychology. 

Tennessee Williams' play (and this adaptation) explores gender roles, domestic violence, masculinity, and mental health, and it's the internal journeys that are of real significance. Stanley's increasing brutishness, Stella's awakening, and Blanche's descent remain fascinating to watch 70 years on. The film's self-awareness regarding its more horrific elements (most of which happen offscreen) means it's aged pretty well compared to some others on the AFI list.

But the real reason A Streetcar Named Desire still makes it on to lists like this is Brando. Ironically, Brando was the only one of its four stars that missed out on an Oscar - Leigh, Hunter and Maldon all took home Academy Awards, but Brando lost out to Humphrey Bogart's turn in The African Queen (#65 on this list). 

But it's Brando that dominates this film as Stanley, the neanderthalic "survivor of the Stone Age" as Blanche puts it. Showcasing "method acting" to an unwitting audience for the first time, he shreds the screen. Leigh is amazing as Blanche, Hunter and Maldon are wonderful in support, but Brando is on a whole other level. He makes Stanley's caveman masculinity real, mixing it with raw sexuality, street smarts, frailties, and an explosive darkness that leaves Stella and Blanche quaking in his wake. He is terrifying in places. This is the fourth Brando performance on this AFI list (see also The Godfather, Apocalypse Now and On The Waterfront) and it's arguably the best. He makes Stan horrifyingly real. It's a masterclass.

Brando and Leigh's contrasting acting styles makes the imbalance between Blanche and Stanley all the more effective. Leigh's "properness" and more classical style of acting ensures Blanche's prim facade rarely gives way to the lust for danger that lurks within, while also amplifying the growing mental illness. More so than Stanley, Blanch DuBois is the source of endless discussion and debate, whether she be celebrated as a doomed heroine or a tragic antihero, studied as a fallen woman or dismissed as an alcoholic nymphomaniac. Either way, her treatment is a cutting reflection of the society at the time that breaks a woman, and then oppresses her when she doesn't fit with its ideals, as is beautifully essayed in this New Yorker review of the play from 1947.

The whole thing is beautifully shot, with Elia Kazan doing his best to let the action play out, keeping the cutting and camera moves to a minimum. His use of lighting is great - at the start, Stella and Stanley's home is bright and inviting, though rundown. By the end it is filled with menacing shadows, elevated by Kazan's shot choices.

While the film has a definite villain in Stanley, he's not your typical bad guy, and the film doesn't really have a hero in the classical sense. Add to this its deep psychological themes, and A Streetcar Named Desire is ripe for analysis. In fact, here's a study guide, and another, and here are the cliffs notes. 

There's something unshakeable about A Streetcar Named Desire. It seems so simple on the surface, but it lives in your brain long afterwards, becoming more and more complex as time goes on, as you weigh its characters, its themes and its psychology. It's a tough, gritty watch, and somewhat sanitised compared to the play, but it still works in its own special way, allowing us a peek behind the closed doors of a group of people with a lot of very loud and dangerous emotions. 

AFI #46: It Happened One Night (1934)

This is a version of a review airing on ABC Radio Ballarat and South West Victoria on October 15, 2021.

This is part of a series of articles reviewing the American Film Institute's Top 100 Films, as unveiled in 2007. Why am I doing this? Because the damned cinemas were closed and I had to review something, and now I can't stop until I finish.

(PG) ★★★★

Director: Frank Capra.

Cast: Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert, Walter Connolly, Roscoe Karns, Jameson Thomas, Alan Hale, Arthur Hoyt, Blanche Friderici, Charles C. Wilson.

"That looks really uncomfortable."

If nothing else, It Happened One Night is responsible for the creation of one of the greatest fictional characters of all time. I am of course referring to Bugs Bunny. His carrot-chomping unflappability is definitely a descendant of Clark Gable's newsman Peter Warne and Roscoe Karns' annoying bus traveler Oscar Shapeley. Shapeley's liberal use of the nickname 'Doc', and Peter pretending to be a goon named 'Bugs' seal the deal. Plus the carrot thing.

But It Happened One Night is more than just a Warner Bros Cartoons footnote. It's the quintessential pre-Code rom-com, laying out the template for a formula that exists to this day. Aspects haven't aged well (Peter suggesting what Colbert's Ellie "needs is a guy that'd take a sock at her once a day, whether it's coming to her or not" is one such moment), but it's aged far better than The Philadelphia Story.

One thing that hasn't dated is its chemistry. The sizzling undercurrent between Gable and Colbert still crackles with electricity almost 90 years on, all the more remarkable because neither star wanted to be in the film. But Frank Capra knew how to get the most out of both of them, and the film's ability to hint at the sexual electricity humming between Peter and Ellie is dynamite. Colbert showing a hint of thigh to score a lift doesn't sound like much, but it speaks volumes of the time, their relationship, and how a little can say a lot. Gable and Colbert give wonderful performances that stand the test of time.

The plot also remains timeless. As esteemed critic Barry Norman put it, "it's no more than a slender tale about a runaway heiress (Colbert) and an out-of-work journalist (Gable) who meet on a bus and fall in love". But Colbert's Ellie, who is desperate to escape her overbearing father and return to her husband, and Gable's Peter, who knows Ellie's plight is the story of the year, are fascinating characters, and it makes their potentially humdrum road trip actually hum. As Norman wrote "these are the kind of attractive, humourous people we would like to be, or anyway would like to know". Some things never change. 

The film's status as a superior comedy has been in place since it swept the Oscars, becoming the first film to win the Big Five (film, director, actress, actor, and screenplay). Its significance also lies with the notion that, according to Allan Hunter's Wordsworth Book Of Movie Classic, the film "helped initiate the genre of screwball comedy and transformed Columbia from a poverty-row studio to a major Hollywood concern", as well as allowing "Clark Gable's good-natured masculinity (to shine) through for really the first time on screen". 

Although it still feels vibrant, some disagree. Even 50 years ago, critics were already lamenting the film was outdated and slow. Author William Bayer wrote in his book The Great Movies back in 1973: "Show The General to a morose college student today and watch him laugh. Show him It Happened One Night and he'll tell you he can't 'relate to it'." Similarly, Leslie Halliwell's The Filmgoer's Companion stated in 1977 that although "it's lively good humour and piquant dialogue endeared it to all comers... it seems on the slow side" to contemporary audiences.

This is partially true. Yes, The General works for all, and is one of the greatest films of all time. The relatability of It Happened One Night is kind of a moot point - it's like Norman said, "we would like to be, or anyway would like to know" these people, not relate to their situations. People still love It Happened One Night for the same reason they like James Bond films - they wish they knew or were one of the key characters, not because they relate to their issues. They love the idea of the sexual tension as Ellie and Peter undress either side of a blanket that divides their room, but they don't want to actually trek from Florida to New York on 50 cents a day. 

As for the pacing, it's still 80% on the money. Capra wasn't much for the fanciness of directing (though there's one delicious shot that follows Ellie through a muddy campground) but he knew how to keep a story moving and ensure its plot points punched at the right time, with full credit also to Robert Riskin for his script, which adapts Samuel Hopkins Adams' short story Night Bus. The first three minutes set up a huge amount about Ellie, while it only takes a drunken phone chat between Peter and his editor for us to get a handle on Peter. That's quality writing, even nine decades later.

Certain story elements have aged poorly, such as the sexual politics - Gable's Peter is particularly domineering of Ellie, a woman he hardly knows. But these politics are at least played for effective laughs when the lead couple pretend to be married and descend into a slanging match in order to throw some detectives off their trail. Less successful is Ellie's transition from strong-headed lass willing to leap from her father's yacht and risk it all to being someone who breaks down over a fella she's known for four days. It's hard to swallow, and obviously representative of its time but it does go somewhat towards Bayer's comments about unrelatability.

But it's actually quite remarkable how good It Happened One Night is, considering its age. Its template is sturdy, and from meet-cute to altar-ditch it's fast-talking good fun in a classic battle-of-the-sexes and/or classes kinda way. The antagonism of the protagonists as they battle against their instincts is timeless, as is their predicament. And if you have to point to a rom-com to be the grandmother of them all, this isn't a bad one to point to, even as it approaches its 90th birthday.

AFI #45: Shane (1953)

This is a version of a review airing on ABC Radio Ballarat and South West Victoria on October 15, 2021.

This is part of a series of articles reviewing the American Film Institute's Top 100 Films, as unveiled in 2007. Why am I doing this? Because the damned cinemas were closed and I had to review something, and now I can't stop until I finish.

(G) ★★★★

Director: George Stevens.

Cast: Alan Ladd, Jean Arthur, Van Heflin, Brandon deWilde, Jack Palance, Ben Johnson, Edgar Buchanan, Emile Meyer, Elisha Cook Jr., Douglas Spencer, John Dierkes.

"We've gotta be on the lookout for cowboys. They sneak up out of nowhere."

How many times do they say "Shane" in Shane? 

It's a shitload. So many times it's distracting, to the detriment of the film. See that star I knocked off? That's partly due to the number of times they say "Shane". According to an estimate from this compilation it's about 90 times. 

 

That's about once every 90 seconds. It's ridiculous. The fact that someone made a supercut of every time someone says "Shane" in Shane is a pretty good sign this is a highly noticeable thing.

It's also bad writing because it's unnecessary. In a film that barely wastes a word otherwise, having someone say "Shane" every minute and a half is mindboggling. It seem like overkill to mark a film down for such a thing, but I'm sorry, it had to be done.

About 50 per cent of those "Shane"'s come from the kid, who annoys me. I watched The Sound Of Music recently and those kids didn't irk me. But little Brandon deWilde's Joey quickly became like nails down a chalkboard. I feel bad saying that because deWilde died at a young age, and was nominated for Best Supporting Actor Oscar for this role. But sorry, kid, but you just didn't do it for me.

But then neither does Alan Ladd, which is somewhat sacrilegious to say. His presence doesn't ruin the film, and his performance is actually quite great - it's more that he doesn't look the part. Riding in out of the hills with his coiffured hair and virginal pale brown buckskin, he is far too manicured to be a gunslinging killer with a dark past. And at 5'6" he's certainly not an imposing figure, unlike Palance's grinning assassin.

These are my only quibbles with Shane. The film is rightly regarded as a classic, benchmark-setting western. The threatened farmers, the lawless cattle baron, his black-hatted henchmen, the mysterious stranger who comes to the rescue, the beautiful scenery, the shoot-outs, the saloon brawl - it's all here in this quintessential example of the genre.

Murray Pomerance, writing for 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, called it "the most iconic (western), the western that burns itself into our memory, the western no one who sees it will ever forget". Indeed, Pomerance is at pains to point what it isn't, it's not "the most glorious" western, nor is it the most masculine, most authentic, strangest or most dramatic. Similarly, in his 1973 book The Great Movies, William Bayer also points out Shane is not the a "rough-and-ready" western, nor is it "a meditation on history and character".

"It is the most self-conscious attempt ever made to use the western form to create a myth," Bayer writes, noting it is "the aestheticising, the contrived beauty, the calculated precision, the perfection which... is the picture's major strength".

Indeed, all of my quibbles - the performance of the kid, the look of Ladd, the overuse of "Shane" - add up to an inauthenticity that is otherwise tolerable. Shane is indeed a thing of beauty. When it's studio-bound it feels aged, but when it's out in the wide blue yonder among the mud and dust of America's past, it looks magnificent. From the opening shot of a deer drinking from a lake near a farmhouse to Shane riding off into a sunset that beats all other rides into the sunset, director Stevens captures something that feels, as Mayer put it, "mythic".

The images are indelible. The frightening assassin Wilson (a menacing Palance) gunning down a hapless homesteader and leaving him in the mud, the subsequent funeral on a dull hilltop, two men working together to pull out a massive tree stump against an azure sky, the tension of the final shootout, and Shane's farewell all become etched in viewers' memories. The characters are equally memorable - they are far from the caricatures that these types of characters would become. Shane and the Starrett family all have a depth to them that elevates the film and their plight.

Ladd, despite not looking the part, is wonderfully stoic in the lead, and his relationships with the Starrett family are central to the film, as well as its mythic quality. Shane is a cowboy idol - worshipped by both Joey and his father (Heflin), and secretly loved by mother Marian (Arthur) in a beautifully subtle subplot. The titular gunslinger represents a lost part of America, and the Starretts are America, bathing in his mythos. They're in awe of him, though they know nothing of his truth. The kid want Shane to stay and be his dad, the men want to be him, and the women want to bed him. This is some A-level myth-building.

Which is why it feels so petty to mark the film down a whole star because they say "Shane" incessantly, because the kid is annoying, and because Ladd doesn't look right for the role. But everything else about the film feels real, even when it's quite obviously trying to recreate some false but beautiful version of the cowboy legend. This is not a film trying to show us what the Wild West was really like, but to be a perfect example of what America wanted it to be like.

Free Guy

This is a version of a review airing on ABC Radio Ballarat and South West Victoria on October 1, 2021.

(M) ★★★★

Director: Shawn Levy.

Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, Joe Keery, Lil Rel Howery, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Taika Waititi, Britne Oldford, Camille Kostek, Matty Cardarople, Channing Tatum, Aaron W. Reed.

"Is that my gun?"

What would it be like living inside a video game world like Grand Theft Auto?

That's the basic premise behind Free Guy, a visually hyperactive but charmingly thoughtful actioner that puts its cast and special FX department to wonderful use.

Ryan Reynolds plays Guy, an NPC (that's non-player character for the "noobs") in the video game Free City, who starts to yearn for something more than his algorithm-determined life inside a bullet-riddled nightmare. As he begins to break his programming, he becomes entangled with Molotov Girl, the player profile of real world game developer Millie Rusk (Comer), who is in a legal battle with Free City's creator Antwan (Waititi) over allegations Antwan stole the game Millie and her friend Keys (Keery) created.

Free Guy was delayed for so long you probably found yourself wondering whether it would be worth the wait. Thankfully it is. Packed with enough Easter eggs to rival Ready Player One and brimming with the buoyant charm of The Lego Movie, Free Guy is a fun exploration of the desire to break out of the daily grind. 

Guy's quest for betterment and for a life outside the norm is reminiscent of Groundhog Day in places, which, coupled with the Grand Theft Auto/Fortnite world he lives in, makes for some great laughs. But it also gives the film its heart and drive. Reynolds plays Guy's naivety with comic ease, and imbues him with a sense of purpose as he tries to find a raison d'etre. His quest for "something more" is genuinely uplifting in places, which is perhaps surprising given the number of explosions in the film.

The added bonus is the film's "real world" story is also cool, as it pokes at the flaws of the video game industry but also gives us two touching characters in Millie and Keys, played earnestly by Comer and Keery. Comer is particularly great in dual roles as Millie/Molotov Girl, while Waititi has a ball chewing the scenery as the film's Big Bad.  

Free Guy is a rarity in that it's a hugely successful big budget actioner that doesn't stem from a pre-existing IP. There's plenty of pop culture for it to trade on, helping Free Guy walk a nice line between originality and familiarity. But what really matters is that it's highly enjoyable and wonderfully funny, with almost as much heart as high-octane special FX sequences.

A deep dive into Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time

I recently wrote an analysis of Rolling Stone's recent list of the 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time, which crowned Aretha Franklin's version of Respect at #1. You can read it here.

I love these kinds of lists. It's why I'm watching the American Film Institute's Top 100 Films. It's why I helped put together a list of the 100 best songs that missed out on a spot in triple j's Hottest 100. The quantification of qualitative artforms is fascinating to me because it conjures the question "what makes this great?". I want to know why these films/songs/albums are so highly regarded, and I want to pull apart what makes one better than another. I've discovered so many cool pieces of art I'd either never heard or never properly paid attention to through these kinds of lists.

In the process of compiling the aforementioned ABC article about Rolling Stone's list, I pulled together a spreadsheet to help me make sense of it all. The spreadsheet told me all sorts of weird and wonderful things I couldn't fit into the article, and it seemed a shame to let it go to waste, so here are some cool lists from within the list.

Disclaimer: Rolling Stone first released its 500 best songs list in 2004, and did a slight update in 2010, but I've ignored the 2010 update because a) it was minor and b) the comparison between 2004 and 2021 is far more interesting.

And if you find any mistakes, please let me know so I can correct them. Thank you.

Top 10 songs from the 2004 list that didn't make the 2021 list

1. Hound Dog - Elvis Presley (2004 position - #19)
2. You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' - The Righteous Brothers (#34)
3. When A Man Loves A Woman - Percy Sledge (#54)
4. Long Tall Sally - Little Richard (#56)
5. The Times Are A-Changin' - Bob Dylan (#59)
6. Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On - Jerry Lee Lewis (#61)
7. For What It's Worth - Buffalo Springfield (#63)
8. Sunshine Of Your Love - Cream (#65)
9. California Girls - The Beach Boys (#71)
10. Mystery Train - Elvis Presley (#77)

Top 10 eligible songs that didn't make the 2004 list that made the 2021 list

1. Get Ur Freak On - Missy Elliott (2021 position - #8)
2. Dreams - Fleetwood Mac (#9)
3. Crazy In Love - Beyonce feat. Jay-Z (#16)
4. Strange Fruit - Billie Holiday (#21)
5. A Case Of You - Joni Mitchell (#26)
6. Once In A Lifetime - Talking Heads (#28)
7. Juicy - Notorious B.I.G. (#32)
8. Seven Nation Army - The White Stripes (#36)
9. B.O.B. - Outkast (#39)
10. Idioteque - Radiohead (#48)

Top 10 biggest improvers

1. Nuthin' But A 'G' Thang - Dr Dre feat. Snoop Doggy Dogg (390 spots, from #419 to #29)
2. Kiss - Prince (376 spots, from #461 to #85)
3. Just Like Heaven - The Cure (375 spots, from #483 to #108)
4. I Feel Love - Donna Summer (359 spots, from #411 to #52)
5. Tiny Dancer - Elton John (340 spots, from #387 to #47)
6. Tumbling Dice - The Rolling Stones (338 spots, from #424 to #86)
7. Super Freak - Rick James (324 spots, from #477 to #153)
8. Fight The Power - Public Enemy (320 spots, from #322 to #2)
9. More Than A Feeling - Boston (288 spots, from #500 to #212)
10. Young Americans - David Bowie (277 spots, from #481 to #204)

Top 10 biggest drops (while still making the cut in 2021)

1. Help! - The Beatles (418 spots, from #29 to #447)
2. Crying - Roy Orbison (392 spots, from #69 to #461)
3. Summertime Blues - Eddie Cochran (359 spots, from #73 to #432)
4. House Of The Rising Sun - The Animals (349 spots, from #122 to #471)
5. California Dreamin' - The Mamas & The Papas (331 spots, from #89 to #420)
6. Heartbreak Hotel - Elvis Presley (302 spots, from #45 to #347)
7. Go Your Own Way - Fleetwood Mac (282 spots, from #119 to #401)
8. Light My Fire - The Doors (275 spots, from #35 to #310)
9. Hotel California - The Eagles (262 spots, from #49 to #311)
10. Up On The Roof - The Drifters (262 spots, from #113 to #375)

Top 10 smallest movers between 2004 and 2021

1. Be My Baby - The Ronettes (no change, #21)
2. Lose Yourself - Eminem (one spot, from #166 to #167)
3. Tangled Up In Blue - Bob Dylan (one spot, from #68 to #67)
4. I Want To Hold Your Hand - The Beatles (one spot, from #16 to #15)
5. Good Golly, Miss Molly - Little Richard (two spots, from #94 to #92)
6. A Day In The Life - The Beatles (two spots, from #26 to #24)
7. What's Going On - Marvin Gaye (two spots, from #4 to #6)
8. Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) - The Eurythmics (three spots, #356 to #353)
9. Proud Mary - Creedence Clearwater Revival (three spots, #155 to #152)
10. Like A Rolling Stone - Bob Dylan (three spots, #1 to #4)

Top 10 of the 2010s

1. Dancing On My Own - Robyn (#20)
2. Runaway - Kanye West feat. Pusha T (#25)
3. Royals - Lorde (#30)
4. Alright - Kendrick Lamar (#45)
5. Gasolina - Daddy Yankee (#50)
6. All Too Well - Taylor Swift (#69)
7. Formation - Beyonce (#73)
8. Rolling In The Deep - Adele (#82)
9. Hold On, We're Going Home - Drake feat. Majid Jordan (#129)
10. Thank U, Next - Ariana Grande (#137)

Top 10 of the 2000s

1. Get Ur Freak On - Missy Elliot (#8)
2. Hey Ya! - Outkast (#10)
3. Crazy In Love - Beyonce feat. Jay-Z (#16)
4. Seven Nation Army - The White Stripes (#36)
5. B.O.B. - Outkast (#39)
6. Paper Planes - M.I.A. (#46)
7. Idioteque - Radiohead (#48)
8. Work It - Missy Elliott (#56)
9. Back To Black - Amy Winehouse (#79)
10. All My Friends - LCD Soundsystem (#87)

Top 10 of the '90s

1. Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana (#5)
2. Nuthin' But A 'G' Thang - Dr Dre feat. Snoop Doggy Dogg (#29)
3. Juicy - The Notorious B.I.G. (#32)
4. Doo Wop (That Thing) - Lauryn Hill (#49)
5. One - U2 (#62)
6. Common People - Pulp (#75)
7. I Will Always Love You - Whitney Houston (#94)
8. Wonderwall - Oasis (#95)
9. You Oughta Know - Alanis Morissette (#103)
10. C.R.E.A.M. - Wu-Tang Clan (#107)

Top 10 of the '80s

1. Fight The Power - Public Enemy (#2)
2. Purple Rain - Prince (#18)
3. Once In A Lifetime - Talking Heads (#28)
4. When Doves Cry - Prince (#37)
5. Love Will Tear Us Apart - Joy Division (#41)
6. Redemption Song - Bob Marley & The Wailers (#42)
7. Billie Jean - Michael Jackson (#44)
8. Like A Prayer - Madonna (#55)
9. The Message - Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five (#59)
10. Running Up That Hill - Kate Bush (#60)

Top 10 of the '70s

1. What's Going On - Marvin Gaye (#6)
2. Dreams - Fleetwood Mac (#9)
3. Superstition - Stevie Wonder (#12)
4. Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen (#17)
5. Imagine - John Lennon (#19)
6. Heroes - David Bowie (#23)
7. A Case Of You - Joni Mitchell (#26)
8. Born To Run - Bruce Springsteen (#27)
9. Tiny Dancer - Elton John ( #47)
10. I Feel Love - Donna Summer (#52)

Top 10 of the '60s

1. Respect - Aretha Franklin (#1)
2. A Change Is Gonna Come - Sam Cooke (#3)
3. Like A Rolling Stone - Bob Dylan (#4)
4. Strawberry Fields Forever - The Beatles (#7)
5. God Only Knows - The Beach Boys (#11)
6. Gimme Shelter - The Rolling Stones (#13)
7. Waterloo Sunset - The Kinks (#14)
8. I Want To Hold Your Hand - The Beatles (#15)
9. Be My Baby - The Ronettes (#22)
10. A Day In The Life - The Beatles (#24)

Top 10 of the '30s, '40s & '50s

1. Strange Fruit - Billie Holiday (#21)
2. Johnny B. Goode - Chuck Berry (#33)
3. Tutti Frutti - Little Richard (#35)
4. I Walk The Line - Johnny Cash (#76)
5. What'd I Say - Ray Charles (#80)
6. Good Golly, Miss Molly - Little Richard (#92)
7. Maybellene - Chuck Berry (#102)
8. That'll Be The Day - Buddy Holly & The Crickets (#124)
9. Blueberry Hill - Fats Domino (#147)
10. I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry - Hank Williams (#165)

Top 10 non-UK/non-US acts

1. Dancing On My Own - Robyn (#20, Sweden)
2. A Case Of You - Joni Mitchell (#26, Canada)
3. Royals - Lorde (#30, New Zealand)
4. Redemption Song - Bob Marley & The Wailers (#42, Jamaica)
5. The Weight - The Band (#58, Canada*)
6. Hallelujah - Leonard Cohen (#74, Canada)
7. You Oughta Know - Alanis Morissette (#103, Canada)
8. Hold On, We're Going Home - Drake feat. Majid Jordan (#129, Canada)
9. No Woman, No Cry - Bob Marley & The Wailers (#140, Jamaica)
10. Nothing Compares 2 U - Sinead O'Connor (#184, Ireland)

* The Band featured one American, but are four-fifths Canadian

Note: Puerto Rican singer Daddy Yankee reached #50, which would make him fifth on this list, but technically Puerto Rico is an American territory.

Note 2: Exclude Canada from the list and Get Up, Stand Up by Bob Marley & The Wailers (#260, Jamaica), King Tubby Meets The Rockers Uptown by Augustus Pablo (#266, Jamaica), The Boys Are Back In Town by Thin Lizzy (#272, Ireland), Pressure Drop by Toots & The Maytals (#278, Jamaica), and Never Tear Us Apart by INXS (#282, Australia) complete the list.

Top 10 best years of music

1. 1971 (22 entries)
2. 1965 (20)
3. 1972 and 1970 (19)
5. 1977 (18)
6. 1967 (17)
7. 1968 (16)
8. 1973 (15)
9. 1969 (14)
10. 1975 (13) 

Top 10 best years of music excluding the '60s and '70s

1. 1994 (12)
2. 1980 (11)
3. 1992 and 1982 (10)
5. 2003, 1988, 1987 and 1983 (9)
9. 1991 and 1984 (8)

Thanks for reading, fellow music nerds.