Reviews
| Rating | What it means |
|---|---|
| ★ | I couldn’t finish it. |
| ★ ★ | Generally unenjoyable, a couple of good moments. |
| ★ ★ ★ | Had a good time but won’t bother with it again. |
| ★ ★ ★ ★ | Deserves a spot on the library shelf. |
| ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ | One of my favourites, going into heavy rotation. |
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Date: Aug 12, 2025 While: Hunting down errors in the hansard On: A UE BoomDeeply personal, Rapp embraces her chaotic life and sexuality in the 33-minute play, with witty lyrics and storytelling shining through 12 tracks. Unfortunately, the album feels a bit unfocused, like two EPs mashed together: fun early 2000s-inspired steamy pop tracks intertwined with Rapp's signature slow emotional ballads. This leads to a couple of jarring transitions, but the poppier tracks such as Mad, Leave Me Alone, Kiss It Kiss, and Shy are real standouts and hopefully form the basis for her future work.★ ★ ★ ★ ★ -
Date: Aug 5, 2025 While: Being shocked Tyler dropped a new album so soon On: Sure 215sTyler, the Creator is always going to produce something fun – *Don't Tap the Glass* is no different. If anything, the funk and dance influences on the album make this much more fun than some of his more arty work. I do miss a bit of the conceptual, higher-brow references that we've had on the last few albums, but I almost see this as a side project, something fun thrown together during the Chromatica tour, and for that, it fits perfectly. The lyrics – as always – are fire, and the beats make you do what Tyler asks you to do for the half hour you have with him: dance.★ ★ ★ ★ ★ -
Date: Aug 5, 2025 While: Out with the Homies On: The Big ScreenThe 2005 version of *Fantastic Four* is something that lived in my DVD player growing up. But after the 2015 attempted reboot, and the consistently underwhelming Marvel releases over the last few years, I headed into the cinema with low expectations. And I guess they were exceeded? The performances were solid, and it was nice not to have a third origin story in 20 years (hopefully this is becoming a trend after *Batman*, *Superman*, and this film avoided retreading the start of their hero's journey). But ultimately, the story let the film down. It's not like they were ever going to kill the baby, so the main tension of the film is kind of hard to be invested in. The set was really cool, and the characters were set up well, but it is hard to fit in a full story for each of the four protagonists in the runtime. I think we needed more time in this universe—maybe a Disney Plus series before this film—to come to terms with each character and get to play around in the exceptional set design.★ ★ ★ ★ ★ -
Date: Jul 22, 2025 While: Making it through September On: paperbackKnight's memoirs swing quite differently to the usual entrepreneurial story. He doesn't present himself as a gung-ho hotshot with the next big idea and the will to make it happen. But then you think about what Phil did, and this presentation doesn't align with what Knight has done throughout his life. Nike was started by a well-off kid who travelled the world on their dad's money, went to Japan to take advantage of cheap labour, and then continued to exploit his privilege and connections to build up this business through what Knight calls luck, and what is often actually dealing in bad faith. This might be the harshest interpretation of the book, but I think those lauding Knight as a visionary fail to see the obvious privilege that he had in the early years. I also wasn't a big fan of the victimisation that Phil did throughout the piece, with the final chapter of the book acting as a 'we're actually really ethical and the good guys' sob piece. But... he is a brilliant writer for a businessman, and the words flow well. As a story, it is a fun read, following the hijinks of a ragtag group of athletes trying to jump from one crisis to the next. For that, I would say it's worth a read, though take the victim, started-from-nothing framing with a grain of salt.★ ★ ★ ★ ★ -
Date: Jul 20, 2025 While: Away for a conference On: PaperbackI think it is all too easy to become jaded about the concepts of markets, especially when all you see day in, day out are the failures of markets to provide the fundamental needs to some while funneling wealth to those in charge. But Varoufakis offers an alternative: a world, not too divergent from our own, where the elites have been overthrown by a guerrilla force of economic terrorists, and a new, *ideal* economic system has replaced capitalism. Some of his goals are a little far-fetched, and his map to achieving this new system a little naive to the level of power these capitalists now wield. But nonetheless, Varoufakis presents one of the truly unique takes on economic organisation that I've heard of in ages. This is a must-read for any card-carrying socialist who believes that government intervention is the only solution to the issues with the world, and anyone fed up with people saying how collective ownership could never work.★ ★ ★ ★ ★ -
Date: Jul 20, 2025 While: Procrastinating writing On: The Big ScreenPost Endgame, I haven't been able to get into superhero movies the same way I did when I was a teenager. Possibly fatigue setting in, possibly the studios spending too much time setting up a new 'cinematic universe' in every supposedly standalone film. Either way, Superman just didn't hit any of the spots that I wanted it to. The trailers had me guessing what the film could be: a deep story on Superman's role in geopolitics, a second film in an origin-stepping-up-climax trilogy, a funny film about Superman and his dog, a commentary on the state of the world, a classic clash of Lex's brains vs Sups' brawn. Unfortunately, it was just all of them at once. In my head, the original script for this was written pre-October 7, and was going to lean into the geopolitics much more, but it had to be toned down a fair bit to appeal to a broad audience. And I have to applaud Gunn for trying to take Superman into this serious subject matter, but you need to go hard or go home on this, or it just ends up being an empty film trying to appeal to everyone. Don't get me wrong, it's a fun watch, but I don't think I'd bother going back to it any time soon.★ ★ ★ ★ ★ -
Date: Jul 5, 2025 While: Flying Home from Brisbane On: A tiny Samsung Galaxy S21I meant to watch this ages ago — when the Pope died — but never found the time. I knew it had rave reviews, but I was a bit on the fence — how can they make a film about a papal election interesting? But my God (an intentional blaspheme), this is good. The performances across the board were exceptional, the cinematography, the music, everything. Ralph Fiennes was superb, taking on the role of the reluctant leader of the cardinals. Stanley Tucci was another standout performance, taking the role of the Pope the world needs, not the Pope that wants to be there. The ongoing contrast of the cardinals who want power, and those who want to see a different world is a great commentary on the Catholic Church. Tucci and Fiennes' monologues on policies tell us the potential of the Church to do good, but the film shows how these ideals can be destroyed through the political process. It breaks down the nuances of politics, and how people must do bad things to do good. While watching, I thought the initial twist was a bit obvious, but then the aftershock comes in and I had my jaw on the floor. For anyone who takes any interest in the dynamics of power and politics, and progressivism vs the establishment, this is a must watch.★ ★ ★ ★ ★ -
Date: Jun 29, 2025 While: Demolishing a large popcorn On: The Big ScreenI like F1; I like the concept of cars going really fast around a track – the politics, the engineering, the tactics. But I didn't like this movie. For a sport with so many interesting storylines, they chose one that couldn't be more bland: "the hardened veteran comes to show the cocky rookie how to fall in love with racing." The framing of Brad Pitt's character as a hero because he does it for the love of racing, as opposed to Damson Idris's character who is in it for the money, is somewhat ironic considering the sheer amount of advertising and product placement in the film—almost copying Kimi Räikkönen's Heineken 0.0 ad at one point, and only a few moments where an Apple device can't be seen on screen. This, paired with the 'evil board member' vs 'poor millionaire owner' storyline underpinning the need for Pitt to come back to racing, makes for a weirdly disingenuous experience, where the message the film is telling me to believe in is being subverted by their production choices. The representation of women in his film is another thing that has rubbed me the wrong way. When we are introduced to Kerry Condon's character as the only female technical director, they had an opportunity to discuss the underrepresentation of women in motorsports and all she had to do to get there. Instead, we have her throw her career away by sleeping with one of her drivers. We also have Jodie — played by Callie Cooke, whose only role in the film is to make a mistake in a pit stop and then be comforted by Brad Pitt. There was such potential to give these characters roles that show what it's like being in the boys' club that is F1, but instead, they fell back on using them to force out Pitt's softer, more caring side, something that really didn't have to be in the film. The saving grace of this film was the cinematography and music. Coming off *Top Gun: Maverick*, Kosinski again shows how to blend practical and special effects to create an exciting experience. However, I do think some sequences were drawn out, with the middle of the film punctuated by a five-minute music video featuring a montage of the various races.★ ★ ★ ★ ★ -
Date: Jun 21, 2025 While: Writing my confirmation doc On: Audio Technica ATH-M50xFrom her opening monotone greeting to the memorable -- now retro -- samples, PinkPantheress takes the listener on a ride of Y2K-inspired garage tracks. I fear that the success of the opening single — especially on TikTok — might disappoint some, as if you were hoping for more of the sound that 'Illegal' brings, you're not going to get it. The mixtape is diverse, with a range of UK-centric influences making it into the final 20-minute release, and I'm hoping to see this range of influences go into her future work, and potentially a second studio album.★ ★ ★ ★ ★ -
Date: Jun 12, 2025 While: Away for a Conference On: Paper BackI've been a big fan of Matt Parker's previous books, so I was pretty confident that I was going to enjoy another entry in his series of pop-maths books. Unfortunately, it was just a bit 'meh'. Maybe it's me getting a bit older and a little more well-versed in the maths he's explaining, but I found that the big payoffs he was building up to were a little underwhelming. I do, however, have to continue to applaud him in his fight against the 'when would I ever need to use this' attitudes that plague many maths students, with each piece of theory heavily tied into our real-world experiences.★ ★ ★ ★ ★ -
Date: Jun 9, 2025 While: Flying back from Sydney On: SIMGOT EW300One of my most anticipated albums of the year, Addison Rae's first album has been on my radar since *Diet Pepsi* was played on repeat for a good portion of 2024 — it placed spot 4 on my Spotify Wrapped. With each single released since then, the hype has only grown. The concept is simple, without falling into the trap of taking herself too seriously for a debut album. With the same rawness that was brought by her mentor Charli XCX to her most recent work, Addison has managed to construct 33 intimate minutes, guiding the listener through a sonically vibrant landscape, with her unique take on modern pop a both refreshing and nostalgic experience. Not one to play it safe, I'm really excited to see where she takes this next.★ ★ ★ ★ ★ -
Date: Jun 3, 2025 While: Trying to mainitain my body temprature in a 5 Degree House On: Audio Technica ATH-M50xThis is an album that really falls into the 'expanding my repertoire' category. But with it sitting on top of a couple of the Album of the Year so far lists, I felt like I needed to give it a listen... Wow – I see the hype. Everything about this album oozes charm; a love letter to Puerto Rico, the album makes me feel a vicarious nostalgia for a life lived half a world away from me. Unfortunately, this has set a very high bar for my perceptions of reggaeton, and it's going to struggle to find other music that keeps to this standard.★ ★ ★ ★ ★ -
Date: May 26, 2025 While: Trawling through the hansard On: SIMGOT EW300I'm not normally one for hyperpop, maybe due to a bit of snobbery from the SoundCloud music era. But as a way to jump into the genre, I found this album an incredible introduction. The production was the definition of hyper, with every track filled to the brim with lush techno sounds that make me want to find a strobe light. For anyone else who really got into BRAT and wants more, I can say this album might just be what you're looking for. Also shoutout to Nik for putting me on to this !!★ ★ ★ ★ ★ -
Date: May 19, 2025 While: Flying home from Brisbane On: SIMGOT EW300After listening to their first album a few years ago, I was really excited to see these guys at Laneway. I have to say, it was one of the hypest shows I've been to. Coming home afterwards and listening to their album, I can say that this wasn't a one-off. This album is track after track of fun, cheeky bangers. As someone who listened to a lot of Beastie Boys growing up, this filled a void that I didn't know I had until now. The production is great, a real step up from the last album; the lyricism is clever as ever; overall, the vibes hit hard for this one. This is going to be in heavy rotation for many years to come.★ ★ ★ ★ ★ -
Date: Apr 30, 2025 While: Preping some work for the Election On: SIMGOT EW300Another Kiwi band that will inevitably be claimed by the Australians when they get big, DARTZ are slowly getting their recognition across the Tasman Sea. Taking some classic punk rock frustration and packaging it into a fun, yet very aware album, the band's second album has me desperate for another show in Melbourne after I missed their recent one at The Tote. 'Flat Inspection' and 'Paradise' serve as great youth anthems, capturing the frustrations of a youth culture that is trying to get on in a world that isn't built in its best interests. This is contrasted against tracks like 'Earn the Thirst', which provide a surprisingly introspective viewpoint for the opening track of the album. It does fall into the classic issue of pub rock of becoming a little repetitive, but you can't let that detract from a great album.★ ★ ★ ★ ★
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Date: Apr 22, 2025 While: Driving to Warburton for Easter Break On: A 2006 Ford FiestaLike any Zillenial, I have fond memories of Drake. I remember "Hotline Bling" and "One Dance" being the soundtracks to my high school parties. To me, Drake was always associated with dancefloor bangers. Unfortunately, "Some Sexy Songs 4 U" doesn't fit that mold. The first half of the album was unmemorable, with the first 10 songs blending into some forgettable RnB, emphasized by Drake's signature "It's hard when every woman wants me" autotuned singing. The only reprise was the stint of "Meet Your Padre," "Nokia," and "Die Trying," all of which made for some memorable moments and the only chance to turn up the music in the 75-minute album.★ ★ ★ ★ ★
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