Film review: The Proposition

This is an older review of mine, presented here for archival purposes. The writing is undoubtedly different to the present, and the review style may differ between publications. Enjoy, if that’s the right word. 

There have been few Australian films as hotly anticipated as The Proposition. The combination of director John Hillcoat and screenwriter Nick Cave (who have created film clips together, and were previously teamed on the thoroughly disturbing Ghosts… Of The Civil Dead) and a cast including Guy PearceRay WinstoneJohn Hurt and David Wenham served to create quite an appetite. The good news is that the expectations created by such a gathering of talents are surpassed with this film. It’s a truculent, smouldering piece that, while managing to have a core story that’s straight out of a western, manages to address issues which still dog Australia today.

Continue reading “Film review: The Proposition”

The Immortal Lee County Killers II: Love Is A Charm Of Powerful Trouble

This is an older review of mine, presented here for archival purposes. The writing is undoubtedly different to the present, and the review style may differ between publications. Enjoy, if that’s the right word. 

Lee County, Alabama, USA. Home to a smooth-talking drummer who looks like he’s taking a brief break from carjacking and a lanky, snap-kicking guitarist who plays a horned axe that looks like it’s got the body of a redback spider. Put ‘em together and you’ve got The Immortal Lee County Killers II. Love Is A Charm Of Powerful Trouble is the band’s second album (discounting an odds-and-sods collection), and it’s also home to the second iteration of the band, too: original drummer Doug “the Boss” Sherrard upped-sticks after the band’s debut disc. The gap – a big one, given the two-man setup of ILCK – was filled by guitarist Chetley “El Cheetah” Yz’s former bandmate J.R.R. Token… and what they’ve created is telepathic blues of the best type: fucked-up and angry.

Oh, and drunk. Continue reading “The Immortal Lee County Killers II: Love Is A Charm Of Powerful Trouble”