Spider-Man: Brand New Day

This is a version of a review airing on ABC Victoria's Statewide Mornings program on August 6, 2026.

(M) ★★★★

Director: Destin Daniel Cretton.

Cast: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Sadie Sink, Jacob Batalon, Jon Bernthal, Florence Pugh, Tramell Tillman, Mark Ruffalo, Marisa Tomei, Liza Colón-Zayas, Michael Mando.

"Can those who want to stab Spider-Man please form an orderly queue?"

There must be written on a wall at Sony somewhere the maxim "When in doubt, make a Spider-Man movie". It's more than likely that same maxim is now pinned to the walls of Marvel Cinematic Universe HQ.

For Sony, Spider-Man has been its golden goose. Not even its rotten-egg Spidey spin-offs (Kraven, Morbius, Madame Web) have been able to taint the webspinner's appeal, and the studio has continually been able to wallcrawl its way back to Queens, make another Spidey movie, make a shit-ton of money, and feel good about its lone Marvel property all over again.

But over at the MCU, an unexpected malaise has set in. Despite great reviews for Fantastic Four: First Steps and Thunderbolts*, the only film out of the last five MCU outings to make mega-bucks (or break-even) was Deadpool & Wolverine. And so, when in doubt....

Thus we have the fourth stand-alone Sony/MCU Spider-Man outing. Given how good of a send-off No Way Home was, one could cynically presume Brand New Day has been driven more by Sony and the MCU's desire to make serious bank than scratching a creative itch.

But that's too cynical, even for me. Because, wouldn't you know it, Brand New Day is actually really, really good. Some fans and critics are calling it the best Spidey film to date, and while it doesn't top No Way Home for me, it's another great example of a movie that understands its hero and its audience, and delivers in spades.

Picking up some years after a spell wipes Spider-man's true identity from the collective consciousness, Peter Parker (Holland) finds himself alone, and throwing himself into being Spidey more than as being himself. But when his own powers start to evolve, he begins to question who he even is anymore, and whether he really can do everything all by himself. 

The first solo Spidey outing in five years features a more adult Peter Parker than we've seen before, and that plays into the movie's themes of evolution and growth. There are some other spoilerific ideas that this feeds into as well, but the main aim of the film seems to be "what does Spidey do when he was no one around him?".

The answer is a fascinating snapshot of the very problem facing a lot of lonely young men - they get angry, frustrated, and violent, and lash out at the world. While for Spidey, much of this is a manifestation of his powers mutating, it's hard to ignore the underlying "angry young man" subtext permeating the film. Throw in that Punisher is the ghost of Spidey Yet To Come, and that the villain is on a similar course of lashing out, and you get yet another Spidey sequel with good thematic depth to it.

Another new aspect to Spidey is that he's far more "street-level" in Brand New Day than he's been for a while. No more multiverse shenanigans or SHIELD missions - he gets around in his home-made (though admittedly hi-tech) suit, works with cops, and swings around the streets of New York. It's a satisfying throwback to the characters origins, as are the cameos of Punisher, Hulk, and Black Widow, which help to make the film feel part of the MCU, without labouring the point.

Holland is an exceptional actor and we've seen that in and out of the MCU. Brand New Day is no exception. With minimal Aunt May, MJ or Ned to bounce off, Spidey is on his own a lot, or flitting from one encounter to the next, meaning that Holland has to do more heavy lifting here than in any previous Spidey-film. And he's great, carrying the film with ease, as the cameos wander in and out of the movie.

There's a more down-to-Earth approach in Brand New Day than we've seen in a Spidey-film for a while, even compared to Homecoming. And it's great. It really feels like the Spider-Man comics of old, where he would swing through the skyscraper canyons of New York, catch a villain, chat with a cop, bump into the Punisher or Black Widow and swing off on his merry way to his next adventure. There are even plenty of Easter eggs to old-school comic book covers to really drive that point home.

Even with this street-level approach, there are some killer action sequences. A battle with Hulk, another with the Hand, and street-chase involving a tank and the Punisher are among the highlights. It's fun, it's action-packed, and it rarely feels long despite its two-and-a-half-hour run time.

Tom Holland can't be Spider-Man forever, but so long as he keeps starring in films this good, I hope he is.

 

The Odyssey

This is a version of a review airing on ABC Victoria's Statewide Mornings program on July 23, 2026.

(M) ★★★★★

Director: Christopher Nolan.

Cast: Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, John Leguizamo, Himesh Patel, Lupita Nyong'o, Samantha Morton, Zendaya, Charlize Theron, Jon Bernthal, Bill Irwin, Elliot Page, Benny Safdie.

"Verily, we have defeated the broom people, and taken their heads for our hats."

No other story could be more fitting for the talents of one of history's greatest directors than one of the greatest stories known to humankind. And the fact that the resulting film is one of the greatest movie adventures of all time should also come as no surprise.

What's truly fascinating about Christopher Nolan's absurdly good take on Homer's The Odyssey is how Nolan has tweaked a millenia-old story and actually improved it. The story skips about fluidly and its pieces fit together perfectly. He repurposes parts of the story to make them resonate deeper and hit harder, somehow creating the definitive version of one of history's tales, reaching into the narrative to pull out themes that might not have been there to start with. 

For those who don't know their Iliad from their Odyssey (ie. me), this is the story of Odysseus (Damon), who leads an army to Troy, hides in a giant wooden horse, defeats the Trojans, and then tries to go home, which turns out to be more difficult than fighting the Trojans. 

  

Nolan's screenplay and directorial vision are impeccable. The way he positions the sacking of Troy in the story, the way he uses it to feed into the wider themes, the way he reconfigures the lotus-eaters and Calypso (Theron) - it's perfect. He folds elements of the original story into each other to make something whole and flawless from a story and thematic perspective. The Odyssey becomes so much more than an episodic monster-of-the-week story, and instead becomes a tale of how when we undo the niceties of society, we undo society itself, how when we turn gifts and kindness into tricks and war, we unmake the world, how when we treat the less fortunate with contempt, we insult the gods themselves. It's a powerful message in any time, let alone the present. 

Nolan, aside from pulling together an utterly compelling story, delivers it on the big screen with sombre skill. The sun rarely shines in this world - it's an often overcast and grey world, but one that still somehow looks amazing. His preference for practical effects and real locations shines through too. There are obvious CG moments that are impossible to pull off otherwise (the cyclops Polyphemus and the many-headed monster Scylla for example) but where it can be done for real, he does it. 

The sacking of Troy, for example, is one of those sequences that many directors would turn into a CG bonanza that makes it look like every other CG bonanza going 'round. If Nolan has used a lot of CG, it's unnoticeable. It looks like he built Troy and he burnt Troy. And every scene is lit with subtlety - this is definitely not Kubrick shooting Barry Lyndon by candlelight, but it give the same vibe, and it's beautiful to behold.

The cast is as exemplary as you would expect. Damon is his usual respectable, dutiful self. We tend to underappreciate his performances and status as an actor because his filmography isn't littered with flashy character roles or Oscars wins. But he's great at what he does, and he does it magnificently here, bringing gravitas and vulnerability to the role of Odysseus.

He's surrounded by stars delivering great but unflashy performances - Hathaway, Pattinson, Holland, Leguizamo, Bernthal, Theron, and Patel are all fantastic. No one outshines anyone, and all deliver.

Nolan's tale keeps the gods themselves at arms length, but embraces enough fantasy to make it feel mythological and enough reality to make it feel real. Despite its runtime, it never feels long, and there are odd moments of humour to leaven the heavy tone.

This is the best blockbuster of the year, and it's likely to be as big as Ben Hur when awards season rolls around, which it thoroughly deserves.

Supergirl (2026)

This is a version of a review airing on ABC Victoria's Statewide Mornings program on July 9, 2026.

(M) ★★★★

Director: Craig Gillespie.

Cast: Milly Alcock, Eve Ridley, Matthias Schoenaerts, Jason Momoa, David Krumholtz, Emily Beecham, David Corenswet.

Supergirl inspects a bus of the future in Supergirl: Buses Of The Future.

DC faces a tough task - reboot an entire superhero megafranchise in the midst of a culture suffering from "superhero fatigue" (a fatigue's that's been around for over a decade, apparently).

But they've started strong with last year's Superman, and are two-from-two with this Superman-adjacent sequel, which has been unfairly derided by many.

Combining the goofy space hi-jinks of Guardians Of The Galaxy and some apocalyptic baddies and moods out of Furiosa, Supergirl is a surprisingly dark sci-fi adventure that does a good job of making a character with goddess-like powers feel very human (and surprisingly easy to defeat), while creating a universe that's both fun and scary to play in.

This ain't your parents' version of Supergirl though. In this outing, she's an alcoholic, hiding from her powers, her destiny and her cousin (Corenswet's Superman). That's until a big bad named Krem (Schoenaerts) kills the parents of Ruthye (Ridley) and threatens Supergirl's beloved dog Krypto.

 

In what looks like being the first of a bunch of ambitious choices by DC's head creative James Gunn (the next film is Clayface, a lesser-known Batman villain), the darker angle is an interesting and welcome one for Supergirl. Painting her as a hard-drinking quasi-nihilist is fascinating, and though the inevitable softening comes, there is still a nice Mad Max aesthetic and attitude to the baddies that ensures the blood never really washes off the storyline completely.

Aussie actress Alcock does a fine job in a complicated role. While her drunk acting leaves a little to be desired, she conveys the inner turmoil of her character well, and ensures Supergirl comes off as a layered individual. Less so, the big bad, though this is not the fault of Schoenaerts, who does a fine job in making Krem dispicable. It's just a shame the character has no other qualities about him, other than looking like a Mad Max extra and being a horrible person. 

The only other main character is Ruthye, and Ridley does a fine job (especially for a kid) at giving her character depth. There are cameos that are interesting as well, helping to flesh out the bigger universe, and Momoa's short visits as Lobo certainly light up proceedings.

But the key thing to appreciate here is the tone. Supergirl treats its characters seriously, makes its world feel lived in, and even works hard to find ways to limit the heroine's limitless goddess-like powers. It can feel contrived at times but it all seems to fit, and it makes a good fist of its themes around seeking revenge and meaning in a life. Supergirl carries around a lot of grief related to where she's come from, and how that manifests, especially compared to Superman, is interesting to explore.

It's easy to knock this film. I did see one writer belittling a scene where Supergirl screams her pain into the soundless reaches of space, but I liked that scene. So maybe this isn't to all tastes, and maybe this is a genre in which I'm happy to accept more readily than others. But Supergirl is fun, with a weirdly dark undertone, and its lead character is interesting and complex and begs for more adventures. So that's a pretty strong pass in my book.

Toy Story 5

This is a version of a review airing on ABC Victoria's Statewide Mornings program on June 24, 2026.

(G) ★★★★

Director: Andrew Stanton.

Cast: (voices of) Joan Cusack, Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Scarlett Spears, Greta Lee, Conan O'Brien, Shelby Rabara, Mykal-Michelle Harris, Craig Robinson. 

Ghosts were more hi-tech these days.

It's been 31 years since Toy Story changed everything.

While someone else would have made a fully computer-animated feature film eventually if Pixar hadn't in 1995, Toy Story's true legacy is that it's a genuinely fantastic movie, regardless of its status as a CGI first. This meant that the bar was set incredibly for all computer-animated films right from the get-go,  while simultaneously legitimising it as an artform from day one.

Then came the sequels, and each has been just as fantastic as the original. #2 upped the game massively with an even more compelling story and better animation even though only four years had passed, #3 is the peak of the series, taking the action, humour and pathos to new heights, and #4 is an hilarious but surprisingly compelling footnote to the series.

#5 is easily the worst film of the series, but when we're talking about Toy Story, that's not necessarily a putdown. The Toy Story franchise sets such a tough pass mark that #5 can be a genuinely great and enjoyable film, while still being the worst in the series. It's a four-star film in a five-star series, and that's nothing to be sneezed at.

The story centres on Bonnie (Spears) getting her first piece of tech - an iPad-like tablet called Lilypad, which throws the eight-year-old into a new world of online friends, cyber-bullying, and trying to fit in. As she ditches her toys for tech, cowgirl Jessie (Cusack) decides to fight back, unwilling to be left behind by another child.

With its central theme of "tech is ruining children", Toy Story 5 has a level of pontificating in its first half that none of the other films in the franchise have, making it feel like a belaboured after-school special initially. The lecturing sucks some of the humour out of proceedings, and it makes you fear you're in for the worst.

But the Pixar boffins are better than that and soon enough something more interesting emerges from the black-and-white tech-is-bad story. It means the film is a bit more of a slog in the first half, but it gets better from there, spreading its wings and soaring as the story becomes more nuanced.

The voice acting is brilliant as always, with Cusack's Jessie getting a bigger role, and O'Brien a welcome addition. It's interesting to see Woody (Hanks) and Buzz (Allen) as side characters somewhat, as it gives the film a slightly different feel. The old favourites are there such as Rex and Mr Potatohead, but the film is happy to move into new territory, with new characters, and it's not a bad thing.

Toy Story 5 offers everything you expect from the series. There are good laughs, interesting new characters, a surprisingly complex villain, some fun action set pieces, plenty of inventiveness, and the whole thing looks incredible. 

You could argue that the whole thing should have ended with #3, and that it would be folly to make #6, but the fact remains Toy Story has the best strike rate of any film franchise, and #5 manages to keep that streak alive. 

Masters Of The Universe (2026)

This is a version of a review airing on ABC Victoria's Statewide Mornings program on June 11, 2026.

(M) ★★★

Director: Travis Knight

Cast: Nicholas Galitzine, Camila Mendes, Idris Elba, Jared Leto, Alison Brie, James Purefoy, Charlotte Riley, Morena Baccarin.

This crew came to party.

He-Man, to me, was the toys and the original cartoon, which I was shocked to learn only ran from 1983-1985. I'd forgotten about the minicomics that came with the toys, and the She-Ra spin-off series, and I know I saw the 1987 live action film, though I have little-to-no memory of it.

But I was stunned to learn there was so much more Masters Of The Universe material out there: beyond the comics and video games, the cartoon was rebooted in 1990, 2002, and twice in 2021. Even She-Ra got rebooted in 2018.

It just goes to show that even as the Gen Xers moved on, there was something about the mythos and characters of Masters Of The Universe that endured, presumably beyond Mattel's desire for a never-ending cash cow. 

Perhaps the appeal lies in its oddball combination of sci-fi and fantasy, in a world where spaceships exist side-by-side with magic (without being too much like Star Wars). Or maybe it's in its dichotomy of good and evil - that the lazy Prince Adam could become the ultimate hero, and where the villian has a literal skull for a face and who wants nothing more than to rule the world. Or maybe it's the fact that just about everyone in the show has some kind of superpower, like some weird kind of X-Men in Space. Or maybe it's the campy silly fun of it all.

All of these things are what Travis Knight and Mattel appear to be aiming for in this long-gestating live action reboot (it's been in the works for about 17 years). The new film acknowledges the goofiness of its source material (perhaps a little too much) but seems fully aware of what worked for the franchise in its many incarnations. It's definitely trying to have its meta-cake and eat it too, and is semi-successful in doing so.

The new film centres on Adam (Galitzine), a prince on Eternia but sent to Earth for his safety when Skeletor (Leto) turns up to take over as ruler. Adam is sent with a sword that holds the power of Grayskull - a force that has the potential to turn him into a god. If only he could find the damned thing and use it to get home to save the day.

Masters Of The Universe does its best to balance its source material and a modern sensibility, mostly through an offbeat sense of humour. The dumb names of characters - Ram-Man, Fisto, and, dumbest of all, He-Man - remain, but are dismissed as a childish lack of imagination. Skeletor's lack of character depth is a throwaway joke or two. The generally campy and silly vibe is offset by bursts of sci-fi violence. 

In doing this, the film tries hard to appeal to the Gen Xers that liked the IP in the first place, and to appeal to the next generation too. It's a fine tightrope to walk, and the biggest criticism is that it repeatedly stumbles in trying to do so. There are some truly horrendous jokes in the name of winking at the grown-ups, and some equally bad ones for the kids with the aim of being goofy.

But where the film works is in its sense of irreverent fun. It has a generally good sense of humour about it all, and is smart enough to know what to be slavish about with the source material and what to jettison. It keeps up a pretty good pace for the most part, barreling from one CG set-piece to the next, and has just enough character development to be interesting in between. 

The cast are the real highlight. Galitzine does a fine job as Adam/He-Man, Elba brings gravitas but also humour to Man-At-Arms, Brie is a joy as always despite being in the thankless role of Evil-Lyn, and Mendes is great as Teela. The absolute highlight though (surprisingly) is Leto - his Skeletor chews the scenery, leans into the camp, and manages to veer from ridiculous to evil perfectly. 

Masters Of The Universe is a fun outing. It's the kind of idea that would never get off the ground these days, so it's only the nostalgia that makes it fly. While we don't necessarily need more of it, we should at least be glad we got this one.

The Mandalorian & Grogu

This is a version of a review airing on ABC Victoria's Statewide Mornings program on May 28, 2026.

(M) ★★★

Director: Jon Favreau.

Cast: Pedro Pascal, Brendan Wayne, Lateef Crowder, Jeremy Allen White, Sigourney Weaver, Steve Blum, Jonny Coyne, Martin Scorsese, Shirley Henderson, Stephen McKinley Henderson.

Great day for birdwatching at the beach.

The Star Wars universe is many different things to many different people. 

To some, it's for kids - it's about Ewoks, The Phantom Menace and TV shows like The Clone Wars.

To others it's about more adult concerns of light vs dark, of authority vs rebellion - it's about The Empire Strikes Back, Andor and Revenge Of The Sith.

And for others still, it's just about high-energy excitement - it's about podraces, lightsabre battles, spaceships, weird aliens, and shooting laser pistols. Often all at the same time.

The Mandalorian & Grogu sits squarely in the final of these three categories, with a dash of the first. It's about the titular characters careening from one laser-filled shootout to the next, and ensuring the audience has a fun time in the process. There is also cuteness, because Grogu is the cutest creature this side of the Kessel Run. 

Basically, if you liked the TV show, you'll like this.

The story finds bounty hunter Mando (played variously by Pascal, Wayne and Crowder) and his adorable Force-powered sidekick Grogu hunting down Imperial warlords for the New Republic. This inadvertantly leads them to accepting a sidequest for a couple of evil Hutt crimelords, landing them in more trouble than they can handle.

The Mandalorian & Grogu is basically a fistful of episodes of the Mando TV show stuck together, and this is not a criticism. It's a great TV show, especially the first season, with high production values and, initially at least, a tone that was more Pale Rider than Pod Racer.

As time and seasons went on, the show became less of a space western and dug more into the Mandalorian mythology and broader lore of the Star Wars universe. Boba Fett popped up, then a major Clone Wars character, then a major original trilogy character. For better or worse, the cool unique tone of the first season made way for a toneless generic Star Wars vibe, which is what we also have in The Mandolorian & Grogu.

Again this isn't necessarily a criticism, but the best additions to the Star Wars franchise of late have found a unique place within the canon - Andor, Rogue One, Skeleton Crew and The Mandolorian's first season all did something different to stand out, using the backdrop of the much-loved universe to tell great stories in a fresh tone, as opposed to simply name-checking parts of the much-loved universe and forgetting to tell good stories (The Rise Of Skywalker, The Book Of Boba Fett, Obi-Wan).

All this is to say that The Mandalorian & Grogu isn't aspirational - it's just fun. It's a big-screen blast that looks like the small-screen version, and wants you to not take it all too seriously. Plotwise, it goes out of its way to add a sense of threat to the main character, who essentially wears a a suit of invulnerability that he never takes off.

Most of the film looks great, but some characters fall short. Rotta the Hutt (voiced by Jeremy Allen White) looks off and sounds wrong. The other main CG character Zeb (who adds little to the story) also looks not-quite-right. The only person who fares worse is Weaver, who gets little to do. She's basically the equivalent of the NPC who hands out side quests in a video game - not exactly the level of character worthy of a Hollywood great. Even Martin Scorsese gets more to do with a more interesting character.

The Mandalorian & Grogu is fine, mid-tier Star Wars content. It's fun, and rewatchable, and far better than The Rise Of Skywalker, The Book Of Boba Fett and The Phantom Menace. And maybe that's all we need in this beloved 49-year-old universe - for it not to totally suck.

Michael

This is a version of a review airing on ABC Victoria's Statewide Mornings program in April 30, 2026.

(PG) ★★★

Director: Antoine Fuqua.

Cast: Jaafar Jackson, Juliano Krue Valdi, Colman Domingo, Nia Long, Miles Teller, KeiLyn Durrel Jones. 

"Tippy toes!"

So let's get the icky stuff out of the way first. This film dodges the sexual abuse allegations against Michael Jackson by ending before the point in history where they happened. According to Variety, that's because "attorneys for the Jackson estate, which served as a producer, realized there was a clause in a settlement with one of the singer’s accusers, Jordan Chandler, that barred the depiction or mention of him in any movie". The film was supposedly originally going to be bookended by the allegations, but had to change tack because of the discovery of this settlement clause. 

So regardless of whether the film intended to include the allegations or not, the film I'm reviewing does not include them, nor does the film encompass a period in time where those allegations exist. Call it whitewashing, call it a hagiography, call it lying by omission - I don't disagree.

But the film before me is not about that. Instead, I'm reviewing a film about how a remarkably talented boy from Gary, Indiana, who was beaten and abused by an overly-driven father, became the biggest musical star on the planet, and who changed the face of music by being extraordinarily talented. What came after that (becoming a human punchline and being uncovered as an abuser of children) is not in this movie because it happened later.

Leaving all the discussion about what is and isn't in the film aside, Michael is a by-the-numbers biopic not a million miles from Bohemian Rhapsody. It ticks off its story beats and historic moments with a minimum of fuss or depth or examination, doing the bare minimum required to tell the tale of Jackon's progression from pint-sized prodigy global megastar. In that sense, it works - this is a beginner's guide to Jackson's life, and as such, it does that well.

The key arc is Jackson's attempts to free himself from his father. While it would have been nicer to dig into that further, and to get the perspective of his brothers (or even some understanding of who they are and what they thought of the whole thing), it does give the film an emotional anchor and a vague sense of tension.

Having said that, there's definitely a lack of depth to the film. It moves from one event to the next without ever really digging deep into the motivations or meaning of it all. Yeah, it's cool to see him bringing Crips and Bloods together for the Beat It film clip, but the film doesn't dare to draw a line between this and the own violence he experienced at the hands of his father, or to find any real reason for the out-of-nowhere peace move no one asked him to make.

What is truly amazing about the film though is Jaafar Jackson. He nails his uncle's speech patterns, voice, dance moves, and demeanour, and manages to never make it feel like a caricature, which is remarkable when you consider that Michael Jackson, for a lot of his life, seemed like a caricature to the world at large. Jaafar does a fine job at showing there was a human in there somewhere, at least as much as the script allows.

And there are some hints at the future weirdness. In Michael, Jackson has no friends, and he is most at home around children. His mother and his chimp Bubbles are the only people he has non-transactional relationships with. He's obsessed with perfection, is eternally trapped in his youth, and has a strange connection with Peter Pan. Again, none of this reaches the depths that are necessary, but at least the film acknowledges its protagonist is not a "normal" person by any definition of the word.

The other highlight is, of course, the music, though there's arguably too much of it in places - some songs make their point in the film, and then keep going. And going. But there is no arguing against the fact this is phenomenal music, and it would have been great to see more of how it was made, especially considering Jackson wasn't renowned as an instrument. Berry Gordy (Larenz Tate) and Quincy Jones (Kendrick Sampson) are set up, flitter into the film and then are gone, so more of them would have been amazing too. But maybe that's a doco for another day.

People will want to hate this because of what's not in the movie, and that's fair enough. But judging this film purely by what is on the screen, and the story it's setting out to tell... well, it's actually not a bad film by any stretch of the imagination (but then nor is it a thriller). Michael is a snapshot of Jackson's rise to the top, and it summarises that rise neatly, quickly, and with huge dollops of great music.

A History of Music

Supergrass, live at the Forum, Melbourne, 2025. Pic by me.

Here's a collection of my ABC articles on music:

April 2026
Is Something For Kate frontman Paul Dempsey Australia's best cover artist?

January 2026
The trends and records to watch in triple j's 2025 Hottest 100

August 2025
Paul Kelly's Rita Wrote A Letter the latest in a long line of sequel songs

August, 2024
Who's the biggest one-hit wonder of all time?

July 2024
triple j's One Night Stand is coming to Warrnambool, a region with a rich musical history

April 2024
What Taylor Swift's secret musical weapon has to do with Aussie comedy trio Axis of Awesome

January 2024
Kylie Minogue among potential record-breakers in triple j's 2023 Hottest 100 countdown

June 2023
Foo Fighters are grieving the only way they know how — through rock 'n' roll

January 2023
Could some records tumble during triple j's 2022 Hottest 100 countdown?

October, 2022
Revolver by The Beatles has just been remixed and re-released — but is it scraping the bottom of the barrel?

February, 2022
Dolly Parton finally receives nomination for Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Why has it taken so long?

Foo Fighters' love affair with Australia continues with gig in Geelong

January, 2022
The changing face of triple j's Hottest 100

November 2021
Midnight Oil announce final tour to coincide with latest studio album

September 2021
Rolling Stone magazine crowns Aretha Franklin's Respect the 'greatest song of all time'

MTV's Video Music Awards are on again. Here's why they matter

March 2020
From the mosh pit to the sandpit: Why kids' albums are the new rock 'n' roll

March 2019
Convict past explored and myths busted in all-star musical Vandemonian Lags

April 2018
The Simpsons, doom metal, and the seven stages of grief: The story of Dr Colossus

Sexism in Australia's music industry still rife, but change is coming

March 2018
The Thin White Ukes, paying homage to David Bowie on the ukulele

January 2003
From Delta Goodrem to Metallica, here are some of the biggest albums of 2003

July 2002
How Brisbane band george made classic Aussie album Polyserena

January, 2002
From Avril to Eminem, here are the best albums of 2002

January, 2001
From Kylie to Tool — here are the best albums of 2001

December, 1999
Today in History, December 30: Beatles star George Harrison stabbed at home

December, 1995
How Coolio’s Gangsta's Paradise became a 'solid gold classic'

October 1995
'The Wall for Gen X': 25 years of The Smashing Pumpkins' Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness

January, 1995
Nostalgia alert: Here are 30 big albums from 1995

April 1994
Kurt Cobain's legacy is evident in the music from the year he died

January, 1993
How Radiohead single Creep became a '90s classic despite being 'deleted' by their label

January, 1991
1991 saw the music industry turned upside down, and 30 years later, its echoes remain

November 1988
Celebrating 30 years of Aussie bands bringing live music to regional Victoria with The Push

January, 1986
From Madonna to Metallica, these are the big albums turning 40 this year

January 1983
40 years of Eurythmics' Sweet Dreams, the 'home recording' that took the world by storm

September 1982
Forty years ago, Goanna's Solid Rock took Indigenous rights to the masses

May 1981
In the Air Tonight's influence, intrigue, and THAT drum break that endures 40 years on

January, 1976

Fifty years ago, music was on the brink of major change 

September 1975
Pink Floyd's album and ode to Syd Barrett Wish You Were Here turns 50

March 1973
Pink Floyd's enigmatic, record-breaking album The Dark Side Of The Moon turns 50

November 1972
Fifty years of Carly Simon's You're So Vain and the mystery man at its heart

April, 1972
Rocket Man changed Elton John's career almost overnight — 50 years on, it remains an anthem

November 1971
Fifty years of Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven — the epic all epics are measured against

August, 1971
How Life On Mars? evolved from Sinatra revenge to Bowie epitaph over 50 years

July, 1971
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Animal Farm (2026)

This is a version of a review airing on ABC Victoria's Statewide Mornings program in May, 2026.

(PG) ★★

Director: Andy Serkis.

Cast: (voices of) Seth Rogen, Gaten Matarazzo, Woody Harrelson, Kieran Culkin, Glenn Close, Laverne Cox, Steve Buscemi, Jim Parsons, Andy Serkis, Kathleen Turner, Iman Vellani.

"And then I said, 'why yes, I do want to roll around in my own filth!'."

The idea of doing a modernised CG family-friendly adaptation of George Orwell's legendary fascism allegory Animal Farm sparks two major questions - how will they tone down some of the darker elements of the original story, and will that dilute the power of its message?

Director Serkis and screenwriter Nicholas Stoller have a decent crack at it here, and are willing push things in some cases. But ultimately this is a dark tale that feels largely too dark for young kids, yet not actually dark enough to do Orwell's story justice, making you wonder if this could ever really work for a family audience.

The story follows the animals of Manor Farm, who fight back rather than be sent to the slaughterhouse when their drunken owner Farmer Jones goes broke. Under the leadership of Snowball the pig (Cox), the animals begin to run the farm themselves, but things take a turn when a pig named Napoleon (Rogen) decides he would make a better leader.

Animal Farm has been adapted twice before, both times aimed at family audiences, to middling reviews and less than enthusiastic responses. This version is likely to receive about the same reception - it's too grim for the littleys, too kidsy for older kids, and too watered down for adults.

They get some things right though. The introduction of a new character, Lucky the pig (Matarazzo), to serve as audience surrogate is helpful, and many of the core elements of the book remain - the slogans, the fates of several characters, and the final image of Orwell's book, for example. 

But where the story tries to modernise, be cool, and appeal to a new young audience, the film feels off, like it has a trotter in two worlds. There are the obligatory dance bangers and pigs doing silly antics to appeal to the kiddies, but it's at odds with the central tale about how communism works in theory, but not in practice because power corrupts, money is the root of all evil, and people are pigs. The famous final image of Orwell's book where the humans and pigs are indistinguisbale from each other is not the end of the film, for example - instead the movie has to find a "happy ending", which is understandable, but this ain't it.

The voice cast is excellent though, and definitely elevate the production - Matarazzo, Turner, Rogen, Culkin, Vellani, Harrelson and Parsons are all great. 

Serkis and Stoller get points for trying, and they almost pull it off. There are moments of brilliance here. But getting Orwell's cautionary tale to work for all-ages on the big screen just ends up being a mismatch of dark tone and kidsy japes, with the political message lost in the scraps.

Hoppers

This is a version of a review airing on ABC Victoria's Statewide Mornings program on April 2, 2026.

(PG) ★★★★

Director: Daniel Chong.

Cast: (voices of) Piper Curda, Bobby Moynihan, Jon Hamm, Kathy Najimy, Dave Franco, Eduardo Franco, Aparna Nancherla, Tom Law, Sam Richardson, Melissa Villaseñor, Karen Huie.

"Wanna lick me? Parts of me are hallucinogenic."

Hoppers is bonkers. It has the most insane plot of a Pixar movie since Up, but it's also the best film the animation house has produced since Soul in 2020.

Part-eco-warrior fantasy, part-love letter to the good in people, part-animals-go-wild comedy, Hoppers has a lot to say, which it says in between manic bursts of hyperactive insanity. In other words, it's exactly the kind of film that Pixar does so well, dialled up to 11 in some places.

Hoppers is the story of Mabel (Curda), a teen desperate to save a small glade from destruction to make way for a freeway. While trying to protect the patch of woodland from the evil hands of City Hall, she stumbles on a piece of secret technology that will allow her to mentally inhabit a small robotic beaver - a move she hopes will save the glade and have no horrible repercussions whatsoever.

Like I said, the plot is bonkers. The only criticism is that its key plot point - the ability to transfer your consciousness into a realistic animal avatar - comes out of nowhere. There's no real set-up for it, no suggestion this is set in a world with far-out tech, or that the inventors of this tech are anything more than run-of-the-mill college professors. It means Hoppers' script asks for a massive leap of faith - it doesn't just want you to suspend your disbelief, but set it on fire and throw it in the river. If you're on board for this potential shark-jumping moment then you can properly strap in for the literal shark-jumping moments that come later.

This very, very important plot point is dealt with efficiently though, and getting it out of the way quickly helps because it means the film can get on with what it has to say, which is a lot. Yes, it's funny and it's madcap, but in that classic Pixar way it's about a hundred other things - it's about the environment, feelings of inadequacy, trust, the potential for goodness in people, biodiversity, the power of nature, the importance of place, working together, and the absolute shitshow of destruction humanity is raining down on the planet one glade at a time.

Yeah, there are preachy moments, but the script by Jesse Andrews delivers most of them with eloquence and poignance. Hoppers wears its heart on its beaver fur sleeve, and it's all the better for it. The emotional notes are big, but so are the laughs and the lessons.

As I've said a billion times in reviews about family films, the best ones are the films you can go back to at any age and get something out of. While this skews older than some Pixar movies due to the villainous escalation in the third act and its hefty environmental themes, it has most-ages appeal that ensure it will grow with its junior audience.

Like the beavers it stars, Hoppers is a fascinating beast - it's cute and interesting and strange, and the world is a better place for its existence.

Listening to 500 albums in one year

 

Updated: August 2, 2026

Back at the start of the year, my colleague Olivia Sanders mentioned one of her New Year's resolutions was to listen to a different album every day. 

A lightbulb went off in my head - that was exactly the kind of resolution I needed to shake me out of my musical malaise and to focus my erratic listening habits. I asked if she minded if I did it too, and Olivia said 'go for it'. We then went on my regular music segment with ABC South West Victoria's Jeremy Lee and talked about our musical quest of 2026.

I'm using this resolution as a way to stop myself from listening to the same old records (as pictured above) and make myself listen to different things - new albums, the old albums I've always meant to listen to, the gems friends recommend, the classic albums I should know better, the deep cuts I've missed over the years, the albums I need to be reacquainted with. I listen to each album at least twice, I jot a note or two in a spreadsheet and move on.

But as time has gone on, I've started to think, why stop at 365 records? I started going through two or three albums a day quite easily some days. I did some quick maths - 500 records in a year seemed vaguely achieveable. 

So here we are. And here's what I've listened to so far.

305 The Who - A Quick One (1966)

304 The Yardbirds - Roger The Engineer (1966)

303 The Frames - Burn The Maps (2004)

302 The Frames - For The Birds (2001)

301 The Frames - Dance The Devil (1999)

300 The Frames - Fitzcarraldo (US Version) (1996)

299 The Kinks - Face To Face (1966)

298 The Seekers - Come The Day (1966)

297 The Groop - I'm Satisfied (1966)

296 Magic Dirt - Tough Love (2003)

295 Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois & Roger Eno - Apollo: Atmospheres & Soundtracks (1983)

294 Magic Dirt - What Are Rock Stars Doing Today (2000)

293 Magic Dirt - Young & Full Of The Devil (1998)

292 Magic Dirt - Friends In Danger (1996)

291 Magic Dirt - Magic Dirt (US) (1995)

290 Spiderbait - Spiderbait (2013)

289 Spiderbait - Tonight Alright (2004)

288 Spiderbait - The Flight Of Wally Funk (2001)

287 Spiderbait - Grand Slam (1999)

286 Spiderbait - Ivy & The Big Apples (1996)

285 Spiderbait - The Unfinished Spanish Galleon Of Finley Lake (1995)

284 Spiderbait - ShashavaGlava (1993)

283 Marvin Gaye - Moods Of Marvin Gaye (1966)

282 The Sonics - Boom (1966)

281 Sun Ra And His Solar Arkestra - The Magic City (1966)

280 The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds (1966)

279 The Flaming Lips - The Soft Bulletin (1999)

278 Stevie Wonder - Up-Tight (1966)

277 Stevie Wonder - Down To Earth (1966)

276 The Supremes - I Hear A Symphony (1966)

275 The Supremes - Supremes A' Go-Go (1966)

274 The Easybeats - Volume 3 (1966)

273 The Easybeats - It’s 2 Easy (1966)

272 The Byrds - Fifth Dimension (1966)

271 Wilson Pickett - The Exciting Wilson Pickett (1966)

270 The Monks - Black Monk Time (1966)

269 The 13th Floor Elevators - The Psychedelic Sounds Of The 13th Floor Elevators (1966)

268 Paul Revere & The Raiders - Midnight Ride (1966)

267 Small Faces - Small Faces (1966)

266 Jefferson Airplane - Jefferson Airplane Takes Off (1966)

265 Ike & Tina Turner - River Deep, Mountain High (1966)

264 Four Tops - On Top (1966)

263 Cream - Fresh Cream (1966)

262 The Mothers Of Invention - Freak Out! (1966)

261 The Monkees - The Monkees (1966)

260 Nina Simone - Wild Is The Wind (1966)

259 Buffalo Springfield - Buffalo Springfield (1966)

258 Bee Gees - Spicks And Specks (1966)

257 Blues Magoos - Psychedelic Lollipop (1966)

256 Farmers' Co-op - Plaid (2026)

255 The Rolling Stones - Aftermath (UK version) (1966)

254 Donovan - Sunshine Superman (US version) (1966)

253 Bob Dylan - Blonde On Blonde (1966)

252 The Mamas & The Papas - If You Can Believe Your Eyes And Ears (1966)

251 Simon & Garfunkel - Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme (1966)

250 Simon & Garfunkel - Sounds Of Silence (1966)

249 Karnivool - In Verses (2026)

248 Twelve Foot Ninja - Vengeance (2021)

247 Goldfrapp - Felt Mountain (2000)

246 Alfa Mist - Structuralism (2019)

245 Herbie Hancock - Empyrean Isles (1964)

244 Paul Brady - The Missing Liberty Tapes (2002)

243 The Mint Chicks - Crazy? Yes! Dumb? No! (2006)

242 Gurrumul - Gurrumul (2008)

241 Muddy Waters - Folk Singer (1964)

240 Sonia Dada - Sonia Dada (1992)

239 Warrant - Cherry Pie (1990)

238 Van Halen - 5150 (1986)

237 Glass Tiger - The Thin Red Line (1986)

236 Eric Carmen - Eric Carmen (1975)

235 James Taylor - Sweet Baby James (1970)

234 The Residents - Demons Dance Alone (2002)

233 The Residents - The Commercial Album (1980)

232 The Residents - Finger Prince (1977)

231 The Residents - The Third Reich & Roll (1976)

230 Kraftwerk - Computer World (German version) (1981)

229 Kraftwerk - The Man Machine (1978)

228 Miles Davis - Get Up With It (1974)

227 Miles Davis - On The Corner (1972)

226 Isaac Hayes - Hot Buttered Soul (1969) 

225 Violet Grohl - Be Sweet To Me (2026)

224 Angine De Poitrine - Vol. II (2026)

223 Boz Scaggs - Moments (1971)

222 The Beatles -Beatles For Sale (1964)

221 The Datsuns - The Datsuns (2002)

220 The Messthetics & James Brandon Lewis - Deface the Currency (2026)

219 Sinead O'Connor - The Lion & The Cobra (1987)

218 Bat For Lashes - The Haunted Man (2012)

217 Sluice - Companion (2026)

216 Andrew Bird - Are You Serious (2016)

215 Big Thief - Double Infinity (2025)

214 Big Thief - Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You (2022)

213 Big Thief - Two Hands (2019)

212 Big Thief - UFOF (2019)

211 Big Thief - Capacity (2017)

210 Big Thief - Masterpiece (2016)

209 Portishead - Third (2008)

208 Portishead - Portishead (1997)

207 Portishead - Dummy (1994)

206 Neneh Cherry - Raw Like Sushi (1989)

205 Charanjit Singh - Synthesizing: Ten Ragas To A Disco Beat (1982)

204 Evanescence - Synthesis (2017)

203 Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory (2000)

202 Cory Hanson - Pale Horse Rider (2021)

201 Miles Davis - Bitches Brew (1970)

200 Patti Smith - Horses (1975)

199 Nine Inch Nails - With Teeth (2005)

198 Karnivool - Asymmetry (2013)

197 Neil Young - On The Beach (1974)

196 The City - Now That Everything's Been Said (1968)

195 Billy Joel - 52nd St (1978)

194 Ghinzu - Blow (2004)

193 Devo - Q. Are We Not Men? A. We are Devo! (1978)

192 Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong - Ella & Louis (1956)

191 Public Enemy - It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back (1988)

190 John Coltrane - Ole Coltrane (1962)

189 Harry Nilsson - Nilsson Schmilsson (1971)

188 Harry Nilsson - The Point! (1970)

187 Oceansize - Effloresce (2003)

186 Ben Salter - The Stars My Destination (2015)

185 The Beatles - A Hard Day's Night (1964)

184 The Beatles - With The Beatles (1963)

183 The Beatles - Please Please Me (1963)

182 Perturbator - New Model (2017)

181 Alex Roe - Night Of The Hunt: The Sound Of Blood (2023)

180 Haken - Affinity (2016)

179 War - Why Can't We Be Friends? (1975)

178 Shuggie Otis - Inspiration Information (1974)

177 Roberta Flack - First Take (1969)

176 Otyken - Otyken (2018)

175 Oscar Peterson Trio - Night Train (1963)

174 Gilberto Gil - Refavela (1977)

173 Blink-182 - One More Time (2023)

172 Stella Donnelly - Beware Of The Dogs (2019)

171 Faye Webster - Underdressed At The Symphony (2024)

170 CMAT - Euro-Country (2025)

169 Lorde - Virgin (2025)

168 Harry Styles - Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally (2026)

167 The Pretty Things - SF Sorrow (1968)

166 Broadcast - The Noise Made By People (2000)

165 David Byrne - Rei Momo (1989)

164 The Beta Band - The Three EPs (1998)

163 Marcia Hines - Shining (1976)

162 Ol’ 55 - Take It Greasy (1976)

161 Little River Band - After Hours (1976)

160 The Penguin Cafe Orchestra - Music From The Penguin Cafe (1976)

159 Skyhooks - Straight In A Gay Gay World (1976)

158 Sherbet - Howzat  (1976)

157 The Runaways - The Runaways (1976)

156 The Modern Lovers - The Modern Lovers (1976)

155 Ramones - Ramones (1976)

154 Blondie - Blondie (1976)

153 Camel - Moonmadness (1976)

152 Genesis - A Trick Of The Tail (1976)

151 Rush - 2112 (1976)

150 AC/DC - Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (1976)

149 Peter Tosh - Legalize It (1976)

148 Jorge Ben - Africa/Brasil (1976)

147 Bob Seger - Night Moves (1976)

146 Joan Armatrading - Joan Armatrading (1976)

145 Joni Mitchell - Hejira (1976)

144 Tom Waits - Small Change (1976)

143 David Bowie - Station To Station (1976)

142 Laura Nyro - Smile (1976)

141 Bob Dylan - Blood On The Tracks (1975)

140 Bob Dylan - Desire (1976)

139 Eagles - Hotel California (1976)

138 Electric Light Orchestra - A New World Record (1976)

137 Sudan Archives - Natural Brown Prom Queen (2022)

136 Waak Waak Djungi - Waak Waak Ga Min Min (1997)

135 ABBA - Arrival (1976)

134 Wings - Wings At The Speed Of Sound (1976)

133 Queen - A Day At The Races (1976)

132 Boston - Boston (1976)

131 Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (1976)

130 Taylor Swift - Folklore (2020)

129 Karnivool - Themata (2005)

128 Norah Jones - The Fall (2009)

127 Aerosmith - Rocks (1976)

126 The Avalanches - Since I Left You (2000)

125 Karnivool - Sound Awake (2009)

124 Dry Cleaning - Secret Love (2026)

123 Archie Roach - Looking For Butter Boy (1997)

122 Blood Orange - Essex Honey (2025)

121 Andrew Bird - The Mysterious Production Of Eggs (2005)

120 Gary Moore - Dark Days In Paradise (1997)

119 Various Artists - War Child 2 (2026)

118 The Rolling Stones - Black & Blue (1976)

117 Rose Peak - Brothers (2026)

116 Led Zeppelin - Presence (1976)

115 Taylor Swift - Evermore (2021)

114 Kiss - Destroyer (1976)

113 Peter Frampton - Frampton Comes Alive! (1976)

112 Van Morrison - Astral Weeks (1968)

111 Travis - The Man Who (1999)

110 Saya Gray - Saya (2025)

109 Bruce Springsteen - The River (1980)

108 Mitski - The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We (2023)

107 The Pigram Brothers - Saltwater Country (1997)

106 Tangerine Dream - Sorceror (1977)

105 Mazzy Star - So Tonight That I Might See (1993)

104 Real Estate - Daniel (2024)

103 Real Estate - Atlas (2014)

102 Mitski - Nothing's About To Happen To Me (2026)

101 The Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed (1969)

100 Roxy Music - Avalon (1982)

99 Miles Davis - In A Silent Way (1969)

98 Air - Moon Safari (1998)

97 Lana Del Rey - Born To Die (2012)

96 Miles Davis - Filles de Kilimanjaro (1968)

95 Miles Davis - ESP (1965)

94 Billy Joel - The Stranger (1977)

93 Laurie Anderson - Mr Heartbreak (1984)

92 Mannfred Mann - Mighty Garvey! (1968)

91 The Rolling Stones - Goat's Head Soup (1973)

90 Pixies - Trompe Le Monde (1991)

89 Pixies - Bossanova (1990)

88 Kylie Minogue - Impossible Princess (1997)

87 Hilary Duff - Metamorphosis (2003)

86 Stevie Wonder - Songs In The Key Of Life (1976)

85 The Bees - Sunshine Hit Me (2001)

84 CB Ghost - Mayhemic (2025)

83 Boards Of Canada - The Campfire Headphase (2005)

82 The Jackets - Queen Of The Pill (2019)

81 Madonna - Ray Of Light (1998)

80 Aretha Franklin - I Never Loved A Man The Way I Love You (1967)

79 Balu Brigada - Portal (2025)

78 Nathan Cavaleri - Miracles (2023)

77 Yungblud - Idols (Complete) (2026)

76 The Underground Lovers - Dream It Down (1994)

75 Manic Street Preachers - Everything Must Go (1996)

74 Brian Eno - Another Green World (1975)

73 The Beatles - Help! (1965)

72 Steely Dan - Aja (1977)

71 Keli Holiday - Capital Fiction (2026)

70 Add N To (X) - Avant Hard (1999)

69 Cold Chisel - East (1980)

68 Hunters & Collectors - Human Frailty (1986)

67 Bring Me The Horizon - Amo (2019)

66 Sex Pistols - Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols (1977)

65 Neil Young & Crazy Horse - Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (1969)

64 Beyonce - Lemonade (2016)

63 The 1975 - The 1975 (2013)

62 Bring Me The Horizon - That's The Spirit (2015)

61 Angine de Poitrine - Vol.1 (2024)

60 Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill (1998)

59 Rob - Make It Fast, Make It Slow (1978)

58 David Bowie - The Rise & Fall Of Ziggy Stardust & The Spiders From Mars (1972)

57 Rocket Juice & The Moon - Rocket Juice & The Moon (2012)

56 Jean Michel Jarre - Oxygene (1976)

55 Diana Ross - Diana (1980)

54 Bring Me The Horizon - Sempiternal (2013)

53 MGMT - Congratulations (2010)

52 Djo - The Crux (2025)

51 Blur - Parklife (1994)

50 Blur - Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993)

49 Blur - Leisure (1991)

48 Geese - 3D Country (2023)

47 Fela Kuti & Africa 70 - Zombie (1976)

46 Orquestra Afrosinfonica - Orin, A Lingua Dos Anjos (2020)

45 Wet Leg - Moisturizer (2025)

44 David Bowie - Low (1977)

43 Garbage - Garbage (1995)

42 Tom Waits - Bone Machine (1992)

41 Beck - Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometime (2026)

40 The Divine Comedy - Liberation (1993)

39 Prince - Purple Rain (1984)

38 Super Furry Animals - Rings Around The World (2001)

37 Bruce Springsteen - Born In The USA (1984)

36 Joni Mitchell - Blue (1971)

35 Beck - Mutations (1998)

34 Sombr - I Barely Know Her (2025)

33 Tame Impala - Currents (2015)

32 Lorde - Pure Heroine (2013)

31 Olivia Dean - The Art Of Loving (2025)

30 Bloc Party - A Weekend In The City (2007)

29 Midnight Oil - Blue Sky Mining (1990)

28 Betty Davis - They Say I'm Different (1974)

27 Marvin Gaye - What's Going On (1971)

26 George Harrison - All Things Must Pass (1970)

25 Frank Ocean - Channel Orange (2012)

24 Bill Withers - Just As I Am (1971)

23 MGMT - Oracular Spectacular (2007)

22 Billy Joel - Turnstiles (1976)

21 The Music - The Music (2002)

20 PJ Harvey - Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea (2000)

19 Kate Bush - The Red Shoes (1993)

18 Kate Bush - Hounds Of Love (1985)

17 Florence & The Machine - Lungs (2009)

16 Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run (1975)

15 Cameron Winter - Heavy Metal (2024)

14 Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp A Butterfly (2015)

13 Ed Sheeran - + (2011)

12 Carole King - Tapestry (1971)

11 The Beatles - Yellow Submarine Songtrack (1999)

10 Huey Lewis & The News - Sports (1983)

9 Huey Lewis & The News - Fore! (1986)

8 Fleetwood Mac - Rumours (1977)

7 mclusky - The Difference Between You And Me Is I'm Not On Fire (2004)

6 mclusky - The World Is Still Here And So Are We (2025)

5 Billy Joel - Glass Houses (1980)

4 Mike Keneally - Wing Beat Fantastic: Songs Written By Andy Partridge & Mike Keneally (2012)

3 Blondshell - If You Asked For A Picture (2025)

2 Gang Of Youths - Go Farther In Lightness (2017)

1 Grant Hart  - Insurrection (1989)

TV review: The Muppet Show (2026)

(PG) ★★★★

Director: Alex Timbers.

Cast: Bill Barretta, Dave Goelz, Eric Jacobson, Peter Linz, David Rudman, Matt Vogel, Sabrina Carpenter, Maya Rudolph, Seth Rogen.

Spot the human.

There were three reasons Jim Henson subtitled the first episode of The Muppet Show "Sex & Violence" back in 1976.

Firstly, it got your attention. Secondly, it's a wonderfully absurd joke - a family-friendly puppet show wasn't going to feature the kind of sex and violence you think of when you hear the phrase "sex and violence".

But thirdly, the OG series (1976-1981) did actually feature sex and violence, albeit in a very Muppet kind of way. The endless slapstick of Mad Harry's explosions and Miss Piggy's karate chop is hilarious and, well, violent. And if you don't think there's any sex in the Muppets, rewatch the original series and report back.

This 50th anniversary TV special definitely nails the sex and violence - having Sabrina Carpenter sing Manchild amid a bar brawl is vintage Muppets. And that's just the opening number.

But this was the moment in the show when I knew this reboot, spearheaded by Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen, understood The Muppets and got the brief. The tone is spot-on, but it goes beyond imitation. It understands the mix of song and show that was the Muppets' stock in trade - that wondrous mix of absurdism and vaudevillian humour and pure performance. It's a type of program from a bygone era, and thankfully they don't try to update the formula here. They just lean into it.

And just as the original series isn't flawless, neither is this anniversary show. A segment where Rizzo and his fellow rats sing The Weeknd's Blinding Lights falls very flat, but that wasn't unusual for some of the musical numbers on the show back in the day, so I guess that's in keeping with the original tone.

The gang couldn't have asked for a better guest star than Sabrina Carpenter. Aside from being "so hot right now", her playfulness and willingness to do the silly things is endearing and fun to watch, and she seems right at home in the Muppet Theatre.

Back in the early '80s, I watched the original series religiously with my parents, every Saturday evening. Mum and Dad laughed at different jokes to the ones I laughed it, but we all loved it, evidently for different reasons. 

This time around, I watched it with my 10-year-old, and we both laughed at different jokes and we both loved it. I can't think of a more fitting way to say this is the perfect way to celebrate 50 years of The Muppets. 

I finally watched Zack Snyder's Justice League

Zack Snyder's Justice League

(MA15+) ★★★★

Director: Zack Snyder

Cast: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa, Ray Fisher, Ezra Miller, Ciaran Hinds, Amy Adams, Connie Nielsen, Diane Lane, Joe Morton, Ray Porter, Amber Heard, Willem Dafoe, JK Simmons, Zheng Kai, Peter Guinness.

"So we'll all get our own spin-off movies, right?"

I realise I'm very late to the party with this one, but my 10-year-old and I have been doing the DC thing lately, and we just did Justice League. Once again, it's a massive disappointment of a film, but it made me realise I couldn't put off watching The Snyder Cut any longer.

And it's coming up on the fifth Snyderversary of the Snyderest version, so let's pretend that's a good reason to do this.

Many millions of column inches and YouTube minutes have been dedicated to comparing Whedon's OG version with Snyder's troll-satisfying director's cut, so what I'm saying is probably not new. 

Except to say, it's a bit unfair to compare the pair.

There are plenty of reasons to hate Whedon, but his version of Justice League isn't one of them. It should instead be seen as more reason to hate the idiots at Warner Bros. Whedon was hired to do a job under very trying circumstances and delivered a film that, while not great (I gave it two and a half stars, it's 39 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes), did what Warner Bros asked - it clocked in at two hours, and it had a lighter tone.

That the film bombed commercially and artistically is on Warner Bros, not Whedon, because of the restraints placed on the last-minute fill-in director, and the evidence can be found in Snyder's cut.

But, as I said, the two versions are apples and oranges in terms of context.

Whedon had to meet a deadline, under very clear instructions. Snyder had years to tinker, and was basically given carte blanche to deliver the film he wanted to deliver. Whedon took someone else's work, hacked and slashed at it, and delivered a film that was probably as good as it was ever going to be in that abridged format (which was not very good).

And as I said, the evidence is there in the fact the first two thirds of the film are essentially the same. The difference is that Snyder's version, unimpinged by studio meddling, is allowed to breathe, and given time to run. Whedon's version trims and trims while ensuring it still makes sense, and little more.

As a result, in Snyder's cut, character motivations are fleshed out and make more sense, or, at the very least, make the characters resonate more. The motives of Batman, Flash, Aquaman and even Steppenwolf become clearer, but it's Cyborg who truly wins in this version. He gets an arc, a backstory, goals, and a goddamn reason to exist in this film beyond "because he's in the comics". Yes, Whedon did Cyborg dirty, but it was at the bidding of Warner Bros, and if you're going to cut stuff, then you cut the stuff that should've been it's own origin movie that Warner Bros should've made first before making a goddamn Justice League movie.

This has always been a problem with the DCEU. Rather than proceed in a logical fashion and introduce characters film by film before doing a big team-up, like Marvel did, Warner Bros seemingly threw darts at a wall and made movies in an order decided almost by chance, as a seemingly deliberate move to NOT do things the way Marvel did.

As a result of this fuckwittery, Cyborg never got his own film, and Snyder instead wedged Cyborg's origin story into Justice League. In Whedon's version, it doesn't work, but when you have four hours to mess around with, it does work. Cyborg becomes the emotional core of the film - he has the most heartfelt arc as he tries to deal with a father he never understood; a father who gets a chance to be a "father twice over", but who is initially rejected by Cyborg because he doesn't understand himself, let alone his redemption-seeking father. It's a rich thread, sewn somewhat awkwardly by either Chris Terrio's script or Snyder's direction, but it's far richer than it was in Whedon's cut.

Aside from giving the first two acts room to breathe, the biggest difference between the versions is the entire third act, which is markedly different, and way better in Snyder's cut. The plotting that Warner Bros considered too complicated is fairly straightforward actually, although that's because we've had three hours to warm up to it, to be honest.

I also feel weirdly vindicated. Here's a snippet from my review of Justice League:

"... a mini subplot involving a family holed up in the vicinity of Steppenwolf's base (is) most likely a direct response to the impersonal carnage of Man Of Steel, but it doesn't work and feels completely tacked on."

That subplot was indeed tacked on by Whedon, who was trying to up the stakes of the finale, and failing. Oddly, Snyder's version of the ending is more direct - the world is going to end, and that's all that matters; not saving a Russian family living near an old nuclear power plant. No one cared about that family - it was bad writing. 

I've typed all these words and haven't even mentioned Darkseid. While I understand why Whedon cut him, adding him in helps make Steppenwolf a far more interesting villain. Having said that, both baddies still fall short in Snyder's version because their motives are cliched and typically underdone. The motivations of a good villain should seem reasonable in the right light - destroying a planet to make it look like your homeworld is just dumb. Perhaps one of the biggest faults of the DCEU is its villains. Outside of Zod, I can't really think of a villain whose intentions made sense in a way that just about any Marvel baddie did - maybe Black Manta or maybe Ishmael/Sabbac, but neither of them resonate like Thanos, Namor, Whiplash, Mysterio, The High Evolutionary, or Kilmonger, to name a few.

In a different timeline - one where Snyder did not have to drop out amid horrific personal tragedy, and one where Warner Bros compromised somewhat - Snyder's cut would not have been four hours long, and as a result would've been vastly different. He would've had to pick up the pace in the first half, cut such indulgences as a random Icelandic sing-song or Martian Manhunter's foreshadowing cameo, and might've made some plot changes, such as ignoring the weirdly unneccesary subplot about getting Batman's troop carrier to fly.

But with his unfair advantage of time, Snyder's version is easily the definitive one, and it's actually an enjoyable and well-rounded four hours, even with its slow patches. There is no reason for Whedon's version to exist, except to point out the folly of a studio more concerned with money than art, as most studios are prone to do.