The Glee Club

Tuesday 21st Feb, 7.30pm

Founding member of Dexys Midnight Runners, the Midlands’ very own Pete Williams will be at The Glee Club tomorrow, performing tracks from his debut solo album – See. Featuring local hero Richard Hawley on guitar, See is an absorbing and deeply heartfelt record that demonstrates Williams’ talents not only as a writer of beautiful melodies, but also as a storyteller.

If you can’t make it down to The Glee Club tomorrow night to see Pete and his band of merry Midlanders, head to petewilliamsmusic.com for all the latest news and info about the current tour.

HARRY. HARRY. Use your wand, Harry!

Oh…what do you mean the star of this horror flick isn’t Harry Potter but Daniel Radcliffe, the rapidly ageing child-star? Ah. I see.

That said, it’s very hard to disconnect Harry from Daniel. But we’ll give it a go.

Harry DANIEL has grown up and now is not only the proud owner of a pair of impressive sideburns, but he’s also father to a two-year old son…who apparently isn’t called Albus Severus (thank goodness.)

In this adaptation of the wildly successful play (which, I’m assured, is so terrifying that it made one of the WhatsOn editors cry) Radcliffe (see, i’m getting used to it) plays Arthur Kipps, a widowed lawyer who is called to oversee the sale of a creepy mansion with sea views. A string of deaths leads Kipps to believe that there’s other forces at work here (my money’s on Voldemort).

The stand-out star of the film is, without a doubt, Radcliffe’s immensely handsome waistcoat. The film is very pretty to look at, the sets are stunning and the cinematography perfectly creates the sinister atmosphere intended. There are also a fair few jumpy moments, but altogether there’s just nothing new or special about this venture.

Except Harry’s waistcoat. Now that deserves a sequel.

ID:A is your classic tale: bloodied blonde woman wakes up in a river in rural France with no memory and only a sackful of banknotes to her name. In order to find out what the heck is going on the constantly bemused looking heroine has to rely on a selection of strangers who seem pretty eager to help her out.

ID:A does a good job at drawing you into the fate of the leading lady, as you play sleuth as she makes her way through various characters and discoveries in order to piece together her lost memory. But there is a major issue with ID:A in that it is simply too dull to function. The sluggish plot takes so long to take off into some real action that by the time the bullets start to fly the realisation dawns that you just don’t care about the result.

I can’t help but wonder if ID:A only got a UK release because of the buzz currently surrounding Danish political thrillers (Borgen and The Killing). What ID:A could really benefited from is a shock or two from a defibrillator to ignite some life into its aching bones.

Apparently this film doesn’t deserve to be nominated for an Oscar, but it’s about 9/11, so what can you do?

Adapted from a best selling book and brought to you by the director of The Reader (now there’s a good film) ELAIC deals with the aftermath faced by nine year old, possibly autistic Oskar (Thomas Horn) when his father (Tom Hanks) dies in the attack on the World Trade Centre. Two years on, he finds a mysterious key in his father’s closet in an envelope marked ‘Black’. Through flash backs, we learn that Hanks loved to send his son on treasure hunts around NYC (because that seems perfectly safe) and so Oskar assumes this key is the first clue in one final treasure hunt from (please say in an appropriately spooky voice) beyond the grave.

And so the highly stung, highly irritating young child makes a list of everyone with the surname ‘Black’ in the phone book. There are 472. And he visits every damn one of them- picking up a mute old man and causing his poor suffering mother (Sandra Bullock) a hell of a lot of grief along the way.

The book was a exploration of grief and moving on from the viewpoint of a naïve, lost and different little boy, and this doesn’t translate onto the big screen. It does, I suppose, do a good job of exposing the tensions between Oskar’s way of thinking compared to the rest of the world, but even then, it’s still so contrived, ridiculously sentimental and well, annoying, that you’ll wish the film was extremely quite and you were really, really far away.

Nic Cage is back on our screens as the aptly named ‘Blaze’. And yup, he’s still being possessed by a soul-swallowing fiery demon. But Nic Cage is back. Do I need to say any more? Oh I do…well here we go!

Let me set the scene, Nic Cage, the man, the myth, the legend, on a motorbike, a flaming skull for a head and guess what? His nemesis just happens to be the devil himself. Nic Cage…sorry….’Blaze’ must stop the devil who is trying to take human form and take over the world. It’s not exactly a subtle storyline, but i’m sure that’s not what anyone is expecting when going to see a film where the lead character spends a great deal of time being on fire.

Although this sequel is a great deal darker than the original (going into some depth about the origins of Blaze’s demonic counterpart), it just feels so much more tamer than the original. Even the added 3D fails to leave a lasting impression. Nic Cage, as expected, does a fabulous job as the leading man, but even he can’t save this flick from falling short.

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengence is a perfectly acceptable action/comic book film, and is entertaining enough. But don’t expect to leave this flick with your heart alight (except perhaps for Mr. Cage).

Sir Elton John and David Furnish talked about their first year of parenthood, the pair spoke of their pride and joy at becoming parents to Zachary, who was born via a surrogate in America on Christmas Day, 2010.
The couple, who met in the early 1990s, said they had enjoyed a “brilliant” year with their 13 month-old son, whose full name is Zachary Jackson Levon Furnish-John.

But they admitted he faced “challenges” and potential “double” stigma as he grew up and have consulted counsellors to find out the best way of dealing with any potential problems.
As a result they have created a scrapbook to give to him when he is older in order to explain his “creation” and birth from his unidentified surrogate mother.

“We’re going to have challenges, of course we are,” Sir Elton said in a magazine interview. “But we talked about that before we had him.”
Mr Furnish, a Canadian-born film-maker, added: “I think he’s going to have a lot of attention thrust upon him.

“He’s going to be potentially doubly stigmatised, because one of his parents is extremely famous and because he comes from two dads.
“We’ve taken advice from counsellors. We’ve put a whole scrapbook together about his creation, the people who were involved in the process and how the intent was about love.”
Mr Furnish, a former advertising executive, added: “We’re going to raise him to be proud of who he is.”

Sir Elton, 64, and Mr Furnish, 49, made the comments in an interview with the British Attitude magazine, Europe’s popular publication for gay men.  The pair, who had a civil partnership in December 2005, reportedly spend the majority of their time at their mansion in Windsor, Berks.  They tried to adopt an AIDS-infected orphan in Ukraine in 2009, but were thwarted by government regulations.

Sir Elton, who is due to perform at the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee concert in the summer, said the couple had experienced the “most incredible year” with their son as they introduced him to family and friends and took him on holidays.
“I can’t tell you how brilliant this year has been and how much love he’s brought us and how much we’re getting,” Sir Elton said.
“We thought that the civil partnership brought us together, but having a child has been magnificent, and I never thought I would have a kid.
“I don’t feel 65, which I will be next year. Now, having a kid there’s so much more to do. There’s so much more I want to see happen before I die.”

Their son’s middle name “Levon” is thought to be a reference to John’s 1971 song of the same name, whose lyrics were written by his long time collaborator Bernie Taupin and inspired by drummer and singer Levon Helm.
In the interview, reported in the Daily Mail, Sir Elton said he was proud of his sexuality and that he had no problems performing in front of people that found it hard to accept.
Despite being “the world’s most acceptable” gay man, he insisted he would not be fearful of performing in countries such as Iran, which had known homophobic cultures.  He added: “I’m like the Queen Mother of homosexuality, basically.”

Article: 10th February 2012 www.telegraph.co.uk

As a big fan of the first game, I was initially sceptical about “The Darkness II”. Different voice actors, a cel-shaded look and more arcade style, point-based gameplay didn’t bode well, and given the way the first game ended I felt a sequel wasn’t necessary at all. However, despite the odds being stacked against it “The Darkness II” has managed to rise above my expectations to become a great shooter, despite a few niggling flaws.

It’s been two years since Jackie Estacado discovered his innate ability to control the supernatural force known as ‘The Darkness’ (voiced by Mike Patton from Faith No More) and took revenge on his uncle Paulie and police captain Edward Shrote. Now the head of the Franchetti crime family, Jackie goes to a fancy restaurant for dinner, only for said restaurant to be attacked by a rival gang. Straight away the graphics impress- the cel-shading is apt given the game’s comic book origins, and overall they look fantastic with a great sense of style and nice detail. However, one thing to note is that Jackie’s dead girlfriend Jenny does look a little unnatural, but she’s the only one really. The combat has also been drastically improved thanks to what the developers call “Quad-wielding”: two shoulder buttons control shooting aiming/shooting with duel weapons and the other two control the two Darkness tentacles- one to grab and one to slash. Items can be picked up from around the environment and thrown at enemies, and enemies can now be grabbed and executed in four different ways that yield different benefits. This new combat system is immensely satisfying and makes Jackie’s powers seem genuinely needed, rather than the sometimes useful curiosity they were in the original. The game also has a level-up system now, and a New Game + mode to take full advantage of the powers you choose. Rather than the “Riddick with more guns” feel of the last game (they share a developer), this feels like a more full-on first person shooter, and it’s more fun because of it.

Getting back to the story, the main focus this time around is the shady group known as “The Brotherhood”- an aincient, illuminati-esque band of supernatural mercenary types hell-bent on taking The Darkness from Jackie. This is all well and good (the supernatural element fits in nicely), but the plot has two main flaws. Firstly, once The Brotherhood gets involved, all of Jackie’s mobster friends start to seem out of place. Apart from a couple of key levels in which they’re actually needed, their purpose just seems to be hearing what Jackie’s plans are and saying some variation of “Yeah- go get ‘em boss!”. The other problem is thus (Minor spoiler) : as a way to explain the sequel’s existence, Jackie states early on that he found a way to beat back and control The Darkness and ultimately hide it away. “Great!” I thought, “They’ve actually explained why he’s no longer trapped inside The Darkness” but it never is. Jackie found a way to trap The Darkness, but it’s never explained how. However, this is something most people won’t be worried about, and it doesn’t really detract from the experience as a whole.

Another key change this time around is the lack of free-roaming. Whereas the first game took place in several areas connected by subway trains, this one has a linear sequence of levels with roaming Jackie’s house in between. I feel it suits the style of this new game, but it would have been nice to have the option. The ongoing battle between Jackie and The Darkness is nicely fleshed out once again, with the tension between the two continuing throughout the game. However another problem is that The Brotherhood aren’t given a great deal of backstory- basically they really want the Darkness and that’s all you need to know. Also worth mentioning is the game’s ending, which is a cliffhanger deserves to be expanded on.

Overall, “The Darkness II” is an interesting sequel. The story telling isn’t as tight and events don’t have the emotional weight of the first game, but the gameplay has been vastly improved. The plot has flaws, but they don’t detract too much from the overall plot, and the game is definitely worth a look. Roll on “The Darkness III” to complete the story…

HMV Institute Birmingham

Feb 20th 2012 7.00 PM

Touring their second album, Tough Love, the post hardcore Leeds band will be in Brum next week.  They have been getting a fair bit of mainstream radio play of late, so catch them before they’re filling arenas where there’s no room to dance! Expect a high energy noisefest with lots of guitars, shouting and jumping around like crazed fools. Support comes from equally loud noisemongers The Computers. Bring your earplugs and your shinpads…and if you’re between the ages of 14 and 16 bring a parent or guardian. RK

…That Adele will need to invest in a new trophy cabinet as she took away a massive six awards at the Grammys on Feb 12.

The brit-pop superstar thoroughly trounced her American counterparts at the glitzy award ceremony. Not only did she win…(big breath)…Record of the year, Album of the year, Song of the year,  best pop solo performance and best pop vocal album, but she also managed to pull off the stand out performance of the night by simply standing in front of a mic and singing her heart out, and she did it live. Whilst other acts took to elaborate stage shows and over-the-top outfits the pop-starlet belted out her winning hit ‘rolling in the deep’ and thoroughly put to rest any doubts about the quality of her voice since her surgery.

Adele is back, she’s fabulous, real and, let’s admit it, it’s always nice to have a UK star cause such massive ripples in the US of A! We’ve still got it! You go girl!

What a shame that journalists of  Bangladesh are hardly under protection. At the late night of 12 Feb, a journalist couple is brutally killed in Dhaka. They are Sagar Sarowar, a news editor at the private TV channel Maasranga, and his wife Meherun Runi, a senior reporter for ATN Bangla. This jolly couple has a five-years-old son who is the first to spot his lifeless parents. Sagar was stabbed for 28 times while Runi was stabbed for five times before they breathed their last. The killing was pre-planned but the murder was the work of non-professional killers as suspected by the Forensic experts.
Journalists & several human rights organization has threatened to take to the streets if the killers of

journalist couple are not arrested by Monday according to the home minister’s promise.

In the last three years, at least 25 journalists have been killed across the country, but justice has been served for none of those. This is how our government forces work turning life into a joke.

Muppets Muppets Muppets Muppets Muppets. They’re back. Fuck YES.

And that’s all I have to say on the matter.

Dir: Josh Trank

Cast: Michael B.Jordan, Michael Kelly and Alex Russell

If any film could be dubbed as a ‘surprise hit’ so far this year, Chronicle has to be it. Coming from relatively unknown director, Josh Trank, word of this foray into the paranormal by way of hand-held camera is spreading alarmingly fast. It would be easy to assume that Chronicle is another low-budget shaky camera movie, but it would be incorrect to do so. Anyone who felt a tad queezy after sitting through flicks like Cloverfield needn’t worry. The lead character is set up as being pretty skilled with a camera and for such a seemingly cheap model it seems to be able to film in perfect HD. Handy that. The plot too (a group of ‘friends’ stumble into something very peculiar and end up gaining supernatural powers from it) seems somewhat cliché. However, the approach taken towards this over-used plot is what makes Chronicle so interesting. We aren’t plunged into a world of warring goodies and baddies and the world isn’t torn apart (not until the last twenty minutes anyway.) Instead we watch as the main characters do what any group of college students would do in this situation – They mess around. There are several genuine laugh out loud moments as the boys try out their new found skills. However, all the while the impending feeling of doom lingers in the background, adding a heightened tension to all the carefree scenes. Chronicle juggles these two aspects well, if ultimately a little predictably. Although the eventual ‘turn to bad’ could be seen as a little cheesy, it raises some genuine questions about the nature of humanity and the ways in which power can corrupt. Chronicle is getting people talking because it shakes and twists a genre that is becoming a little stale. Whilst I wouldn’t go as far to call the film of the year, it’s certainly a promising sign of things to come.

“Gay people can’t play straight roles convincingly.” This was the extremely controversial statement last year that saw Ramin Setoodeh, a writer for Newsweek in America, come under heavy fire. His remark towards the gay community, actors in particular, was seen as extremely homophobic and completely misguided. Not only did this statement carry with it a tone of jealous bitterness, but the fact he specified that homosexuals can’t play heterosexuals convincingly, but heterosexuals can play homosexuals without question clearly carried with it some personal and closeted views of his own.

These type of opinions on certain environments, especially ones as prominent as the entertainment industry, works to create this terrifying atmosphere for which closeted gay or bisexual people are expected to come out to. Not only do people such as Setoodeh promote this backwards way of thinking, but press coverage such as this manages to convince certain people – the younger generation in particular – that it’s best not to express who you are as it could affect your career.

What a caveman attitude to have! There are plenty of actors, gay and bisexual, who have made it in film or TV portraying someone carrying a different sexual preference. It’s called acting. Neil Patrick Harris is a prime example of this. In real life the man is happily married to David Burtka with adorable twin babies. His character on How I Met Your Mother though is a notorious womanizer. Sticking to the Bro Code and boasting over 100 ‘conquests’, Barney Stinson is the epitome of a ‘true lad’. At no time did I think, nor can I believe anyone else did, “his character is totally weak… he seems too gay to play such a straight man.”

Rupert Everett has also made a similar comment to Setoodeh’s; in 2009 he claimed: “Coming out of the closet ruined my career.” Oh okay, that must be the reason you’re not on the same salary as Brad Pitt, because everyone knows you’re gay! Everett has starred in many films over the years and as an openly gay man. While maybe not always having the leading role in films, his supporting ones have been fantastic – My Best Friend’s Wedding especially. How many heterosexual actors can say they have had the successes that Everett has had? Not all heterosexuals get leading roles either. People make up what they want to believe; maybe he’s just not the right part to always play the leading man. His career didn’t stall because he announced he was gay. Everett, it didn’t take off like George Clooney’s down because you’re not what casting directors are always looking for.

There are countless examples of people that have gotten jobs while being openly gay. Portia de Rossi has dated talk show host Ellen DeGeneres for 4 years and they married in 2008. Rossi starred in Arrested Development for 3 years and Better Off Ted for 2. Being an open lesbian didn’t mean she was pushed to one side because her portrayal of a straight character wouldn’t be as convincing, it was her acting skills that got her the job.

This issue about gay people portraying straight characters has been something of relevance for many years. One of the biggest stars of the 50s and 60s was Rock Hudson. He starred in over 60 mainstream films as a leading heterosexual man and was one of the first major Hollywood celebrities to die of AIDs in 1985. During the time when being gay was such a taboo subject, the nation was shocked to discover that he was a homosexual. He was such a lady’s man on screen and this in itself is what surprised people. Rock Hudson totally contradicts Setoodeh’s belief that it isn’t possible for a gay man to play a straight character well. A few other gay actors that spring to mind are Sir Ian McKellen (Lord of the Rings), Zachary Quinto (Heroes), George Takei (Star Trek) and Wentworth Miller (Prison Break) amongst many others.

Whether actors are gay or straight, their portrayal of someone of a differing sexual orientation will obviously be quite a new and hard gig pull off. But they are actors after all; they’re being paid to convince us of something otherwise. If their acting is a little shaky or thin at times, it’s not because they’re gay. Some actors are better than others, that’s obvious. To say it’s down to sexual preference is an ignorant and bigoted remark to make.

Carnage has been tipped as one of the funniest and smartest films of the year, so a lot of critics are wondering just why it was snubbed by the Oscars. Director Roman Polanski is rather good at ‘claustrophobic dramas’ ( think: ‘The Tenant’, ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ and ‘The Ghost’ to name a few) and Carnage is a perfect example of hysteria unfolding in one apartment. Nancy (Kate Winslet) a high flying financial advisor and her husband Alan (Christoph Waltz) a harried executive, turn up at the home of Penelope (Jodie Foster) a self consciously liberal writer and Michael (John C Reilly) a peddler of ‘flush mechanisms’ to discus a fight between their kids. Of course, at first they are all icily polite and amicable, each parent attempting to be the model of diplomacy and neutrality. But as the night wears on and the scotch bottle empties, civility collapses in a storm of angry words, drunkenness, violence and vomit. So much vomit. Polanski brings together a perfect cast who manage to flesh out mere caricatures and turn them into real, neurosis ridden people. Their feuds are insignificant, but, in the heat of the moment, bloody brilliant to watch. It turns out that adults can be just as ridiculous and immature as their children in this hideously accurate yet hilarious film.

Dir Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor

Cast Nicolas Cage, Johnny Whitworth, Ciarán Hinds, Idris Elba

The sequel to 2007′s original, Spirit of Vengeance sees the prolific Nic Cage reprise his role as stunt driver Johnny Blaze and his vigilante alter-ego Ghost Rider. In case you didn’t see it (and you probably won’t have), the first film was almost impossibly bad. The only thing more baffling than Cage’s decision to play such a ridiculous role utterly straight was the inexcusable wig plastered on top of his head. Things are looking up, however, for this new instalment as Crank directors Neveldine and Taylor are on board and if they can rustle up some of the madcap, overblown theatrics that they’ve become known for, then this could be a rare case of a sequel bettering its predecessor.

Fantastically, this film stars Michael Caine and Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson. Not so fantastically, they have, for some reason, decided to put them in a sequel to the 2008 movie Journey to the Centre of the Earth. Quite unnecessary, I think, given that this film is ridiculous. A terrible script that’s as predictable as the English weather, the nearest way this film comes close to being clever is making the ’2′ in the title a pun. An unnecessary pun.

Forgettable teen hero Sean (Josh Hutcherson) discovers that the imaginary maps in Gulliver’s Travels, The Mysterious Island and Treasure Island all fit together to reveal the co-ordinates of- wait for it- a real island. Well I never. Cue the outlandish effects- giant bees, teeny tiny elephants, gold spewing volcanoes, that sort of thing- and a vivid tropical setting that is sure to make your eyes hurt. Vanessa Hudgens also stars, but I use ‘stars’ loosely, as she does nothing more than run around in little shorts. It’s a pity she doesn’t get naked again, seeing as that was the only interesting thing she’s ever done. Journey 2 has been described as ‘harmless family fun’ but I think that’s a bit of a lie- surely anyone over the age of 12 who willingly goes to see this will leave with fewer brain cells. But at least The Rock’s in it. We fucking love The Rock.

The Maccabees ★★★★

Given to the Wild

Fiction Records

This is the third album from London indie rock fivesome, The Maccabees. It resonates deep mellow tones throughout and maintains a level of emotion capable of evoking goosebumps time and time again. The band’s familiar feminine tones are akin to modestly famous indie bands such as Friendly Fires and Wild Beasts, and seem able to capture and clutch a listener’s intrigue with one singular voice. The light and tranquil falsetto tones of Orlando Weeks permeate throughout, but are particularly noticeable in ‘Child’ and ‘We grew up at midnight’. ‘Forever I’ve known’ veers slightly from the distinctive bass tones found in much of The Maccabees’ music, and pleasantly places emphasis on lead guitar. The contemplative lyrics help to evolve simple songs into beautiful narratives, turning mere listeners into confidants; a rare talent, and a mean feat for even the most legendary of artists.

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Dir Baltasar Kormákur

Cast Mark Wahlberg, Kate Beckinsale, Giovanni Ribisi, Ben Foster

Cliché-ridden unoriginality never seems to wear thin with Hollywood producers. An American remake of a 2008 Icelandic film in which director Kormákur was the star, Contraband sees Marky Mark Wahlberg (sans The Funky Bunch) phone it in as retired drug-runner Chris Farraday. When Chris’ hapless brother-in-law botches a drug deal for his predictably ruthless boss (Ribisi), we are subjected (even more predictably) to an energetic, yet tired retread of the over-worn ‘one last job’ schtick. With the help of trusty accomplice Sebastian (Foster), Farraday puts together a crack team and sets off for Panama in the hope of securing millions in counterfeit bills to pay off the aforementioned ruthless boss. Incredibly, things don’t go to plan.

Upon its US release, Contraband quickly established itself as the highest grossing film of 2012 which proves that even the emptiest and most cynical of hash jobs will make money if you throw a big name at them. How depressing.

*

For many critics, “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” was 2011′s best film. Now, while that was indeed a very good film- well acted, well written, and gripping- “Drive” is something incredibly rare in the cinematic world: it’s a film that lives up to the hype it generated. Make no mistake- “Drive” was the best film released in 2011, and here’s why.

Ryan Gosling stars as the nameless Driver: by day a Hollywood stuntman and mechanic working for the motored-mouth Shannon (Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston), by night an expert getaway driver for whoever can pay. A series of events leads him to get involved with gangster Nino (Ron Perlman) and he also has to protect the lives of his neighbour Irene (Carey Mulligan) and her son Benicio (Kaden Leos).

The same month “Drive” was released, Gosling played a confident Lothario type in “Crazy, Stupid Love”. Right on the other side of the spectrum, this film sees him take on the role of the stoic, quiet anti-hero, with the coolest on-screen jacket since Sailor Ripley from “Wild at Heart”. He rarely says a word, and when he does there’s a definite, almost unnatural pause. He’s shrouded in mystery (he’s never given a name, in fact even Shannon only ever refers to him as “Kid”), this makes scenes in which the driver engages in violence (which are universally brutal) have more impact: he’s clearly got a dark past, but nothing about him is ever explained, and that only serves to work in his favour. Elsewhere every other character is believable, with Bryan Cranston being on top form as usual, and heavyweight Ron Perlman getting decent screen time without taking over proceedings. This is very much Gosling’s show, and he’s got some great back-up.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see “Drive” in the cinema. I say unfortunately because this is a film that practically demands to be seen on a huge screen with surround sound. However, don’t let that put you off- even on a small screen the film looks fantastic. It’s a very cinematic experience, with a wonderful mix of light and dark as proceedings switch from the sun-kissed Los Angeles day time to the sleek, gorgeous night. The soundtrack is all eighties style synth-pop, with opening credit theme “Nightcall” being particularly worth a mention for setting the scene and tone of the film beautifully.

Overall, “Drive” is a great achievement. While not being able to comment on people’s general opinion that it’s a throwback to eighties thrillers, what I can say is that it’s a great thriller with a real sense of maturity to it- the characters are believable, the violence is brutal and unglamorous (rare these days), and it genuinely lives up to the hype surrounding it. Just go watch it, basically.

*****